Light 'Em Up
by spirithorse
Summary: This was not what he had thought when he had heard that Steve was still alive. It was not what he had thought when they had been assigned the mission. A Temeraire Fusion fic. Sequel to And I Will Hold On Hope.
1. Chapter 1: Room for One More Troubled

**Author's Note: **So a lot of people wanted to see Liberty interacting with the rest of the team in The Avengers. Originally, I wasn't going to do this because I couldn't figure out a way that wouldn't be the movie exactly. A bunch of more rewatches and I think I have a way. Even with that, this will follow the movie pretty closely. Title and first chapter title are from the Fall Out Boy songs _My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark_ and _Alone Together_.

Dedicated to starspangledimpala, who I blame completely for getting me into this fandom and adore for putting up with my nonsense.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Avengers or any properties associated with it, nor do I own Temeraire. Liberty and the Firecracker breed are the only things that are mine.

**Light 'Em Up**

* * *

**Chapter One: Room for One More Troubled Soul**

Liberty approached the Helicarrier, turning a bit to flash his light blue belly to the signal tower to get their attention. There was a crackle as the communicator secured close to his ear caught the transmission. He went into a circling pattern, keeping above the Helicarrier as he waited for his orders. They hadn't been given much beyond what Fury had passed to them back at the covert, and they had hurried to respond instead of going through the proper channels. Liberty didn't have the patience for those routes, not when something had happened to Clint and no one had told him. He flexed his talons, the only way to work out his anger without taking action.

Clint was one of his. _His _sniper. _His _crew. That he was on loan was a sign of Liberty's trust, one that wouldn't be extended again. He had let them have Clint as a guard for something he had not been informed about. He hadn't cared about what Clint was guarding until the news had come in. Liberty regretted not demanding information, because it had led to Clint being compromised and Liberty didn't even know the extent of what the label meant.

He hissed, lowering his head so he could look for a space to land. He wanted something close to the tower so he could peek in. The lower bays were shut off from him for now, so he would have to depend on his height to see what was going on. Finding a place would be hard, because it looked like all of the active dragons were out of the covert and sprawled over the Helicarrier, some halfway on top of each other. It was far beyond what was normally on the Helicarrier and that made him edgy.

He was old enough to know how to fight for his place in the peeking order without having to actually resort to violence, but with so many dragons Liberty wasn't sure that he could keep himself from snapping. He was fine with two or three other dragons, but not the five that were already there.

The communicator crackled again, Liberty lifting his head. "Sentinel of Liberty, you are cleared for landing."

"Thank you command." Liberty glanced back over his shoulder to where Steve was crouched on his shoulders. "I'm bringing in Captain Steve Rogers."

"Coulson and Romanoff are waiting on deck for him."

Liberty didn't bother to give his thanks a second time, banking in to land. He felt Steve shift around to get into a better position for landing, Liberty giving him the time to settle into position before going to land on the Helicarrier.

His talons skidded on the textured steel, the warning marker, before he got his footing on the asphalt that made up the rest of the landing area. The Helicarrier bobbed briefly under his weight, Liberty standing still as he waited for it to recover. Only when that was done did he continue to walk back to where Coulson was.

Coulson held a hand up, Liberty lowering his muzzle to press against Coulson's hand. It was the only comfort that he would allow himself to take, not while there was information to figure out. He huffed and crouched down, allowing Steve to scramble off of him. Steve pressed a hand to his shoulder, Liberty leaning into the touch for what it was. Steve didn't know Clint, but he knew what it felt like to lose a member of their crew.

He turned his head to knock it against Steve, making the human stagger. "Go on."

"You'll be alright?"

Liberty nodded, raising his head to look around at the other dragons. "I have some catching up to do. I'll see what I can dig up."

Steve gave him one last pat on his shoulder before walking off after Coulson, the two of them falling into a conversation. Liberty stayed in place long enough to see Coulson called away before he was distracted.

He could smell five dragons and something else that wasn't usual. It was almost like dragon, but not at all what he was used to. Maybe it was a new breed that SHIELD was test running. All of the breeders were trying to make the breeds more modern, less muscle and brawn and more slight and fast. Most of the attempts had the body shape but not the stamina, but SHIELD could usually place them in a suitable place for their skills. But the presence of a new breed wouldn't make sense, not when all of the dragons on the Helicarrier deck were veterans. Liberty turned his head to watch Steve, seeing a man come to intercept him and Natasha. Liberty rose to his feet, intending to see what was going on when one of the dragons called his name.

"Liberty!" He swung around to see Viatrix standing on her hind legs and staring at him. She bobbed her head before settling back down on Liviana's back, the Regal Copper's huff the only sign of her annoyance.

He bowed his head briefly in greeting, walking over to the Grey Widowmaker. Strangely enough, Viatrix couldn't get settled. She shifted around on Liviana's back, the movement something that Liberty knew that he would see from an inexperienced dragon or an excited one, but not Viatrix. He had thought that she could never get excited.

With one look over at Steve, he settled down beside Liviana, his own body dwarfed by her. As politeness demanded, he nodded his head to Liviana, hesitating before speaking to her. "I thought you were assigned to New Mexico."

"I was." The Regal Copper gave him a long look before raising her head, giving Liberty a good view of the dragon on the other side of her.

He hissed when he recognized Fergal, the Dakota whimpering as he shifted on the deck. The dragon was swathed in bandages, so much so that they obscured his red and green coloration. Liberty extended his neck, sniffing at Fergal underneath Liviana's neck. He snorted and pulled back, his nose tingling from the smell of so much salve, most of it the familiar smell of burn salve. But that didn't make sense.

The United States didn't use any other fire breathing dragons other than the Firecracker; it was a point of pride in the breed that they had taken so long to perfect. Liberty knew that there were a few acid spitters in the Air Force and that there were rumors of attempts to breed an American version instead of relying on the breed coming in from Europe. But the burns didn't smell like acid; they didn't smell like fire either, but it was closer.

He pulled his head back, rubbing his nostrils against his leg to clear the scent from his nose. When most of it was gone, he looked up again. "What happened?"

Viatrix was the one that answered, leaning almost completely off Liviana to speak to him. "There was an attack on one of our facilities."

Liberty hissed, lifting his head so he was muzzle to muzzle with Viatrix. "Who?"

"We don't know." Liberty looked over at Liviana, the Regal Copper looking worried. He resettled his wings, hoping that the other dragons wouldn't notice how they were slightly open, ready for him to take off. If a Regal Copper was scared, the largest dragon, then it was something worth being wary about.

Liviana didn't seem to notice his shifting, turning her head so she could look towards the end of the Helicarrier. "I was brought in to help haul away supplies. I heard that something was going on, a science experiment gone wrong so they had to evacuate everyone. I just know that they loaded all the trucks up and then they loaded me and two other heavy weights, Fleur-de-Nuits."

Liberty rose up far enough to see the two dragons in question curled toward the front of the Helicarrier, a tangled mess of dark purple, blue and black scales. He lowered himself back down, watching as Liviana did a quick check of the sky. He pressed his talons against the asphalt as a reminder to be patient. His status as captain meant something, but Liviana was larger than him, so there was a certain amount of deference that he had to give to her.

When she was reassured that nothing was wrong, she looked back at him. "I don't know what went on inside, but they had a dragon in the lower garage, one of the middleweight that could fit in there."

"A Yellow Reaper," Viatrix chimed in.

"Yes." Liviana nodded slowly. "Zephyrinus. He was down there to haul out the scientists and the last of the supplies. But I don't know what happened down in the tunnels, you'll have to talk to Maria Hill about that. I heard that she actually tried to fight off Zephyrinus with a pistol."

"Why?"

"He was attacking her." Liviana huffed, looking annoyed for a moment before the fear came back. "I just saw what happened in the open afterward. The scientists, the guard and a strange human came out from the garage so we turned to attack. They weren't answering us when we demanded that they stop. Even Zephyrinus wouldn't answer. So we turned and tried to keep him from flying. Then the strange human poked at Aseneth with a stick and she turned on me. She shook off the men she was supposed to be carrying and flew off after Zephyrinus."

Liberty growled, staring at the ground. That was a middleweight and a heavyweight turned against SHIELD for no good reason. But that alone explained nothing but why Liviana and the two Fleur-de-Nuits were on the Helicarrier instead of at the covert. They had probably just finished the delivery and were resting before heading back to a covert. The rest would have to wait until he was briefed, which would probably be when they called Steve in. He had the patience to wait for that, but there were still questions that he needed the answer to.

He shifted so he could look around Liviana again. "What happened to Fergal?"

"He was flying Director Fury after the other two to catch them, but the man shot something at him from his stick and Fergal went down." Liviana flinched and shook her head. "He was screaming the entire time, like he was on fire."

Liberty shivered as well, looking around for Steve. First Clint and then Fergal, and there was no explanation for either of them. He didn't like it. Until he got the full explanation, he didn't want to have Steve out of his sight.

He was about to seek out his captain when a voice came over the communicator. "All dragons please leave the deck. The Helicarrier will be lifting off. Upon getting airborne, the lower bays will be open to all middleweights. I repeat, all dragons with the exception of Fergal, leave the deck."

Liberty looked up at the command tower and sniffed, tempted to remain on deck. But Steve would be going inside with the rest of the humans once the few jets were secured. The best way to get to him was through the lower bays, and he would be the only middleweight trying to get in. Fergal wasn't going to be able to leave the deck and the others would have to fly alongside the Helicarrier or take turns landing on the deck, one at a time. He growled and stalked off to the end of the deck, flapping his wings hard to get airborne from a stand still.

He heard the snap of wings as the others followed, Liberty making sure to give the heavyweights plenty of room so he wouldn't get knocked around in flight. He circled wide on his first time, turning his head at a short trill from one of the Fleur-de-Nuits. The dragon did a quick twist in the air, flipping one wing higher in a farewell before the three heavyweights started back to the New York covert, probably to eat and then sleep until their captains came for them. Liberty twisted so he could raise one of his own wings in farewell before going back to circling.

The water began to froth around the Helicarrier, Liberty listening to the low hum that the engines made as the propellers first cleared themselves of water and then began to lift the ship from the ocean. Liberty cocked his head to the side, watching as the last human scurried into the interior of the Helicarrier before spiraling away.

He rose steadily with the Helicarrier, waiting until it had stopped rising to come closer. Liberty made a pass over the decks, catching sight of Viatrix as she snuggled close to Fergal. He nodded at the two of them as he passed, coming around to the second runway. When the Helicarrier was on the water, landing on the smaller runway was tricky and could cause the entire ship to swamp or a dragon would miss the runway entirely. It was safer to land on it and access the lower bays while the Helicarrier was in flight.

Liberty touched down on the runway, slipping quickly into the Helicarrier with the momentum from his flight. The humans inside of the bay stepped aside for him, Liberty coming to a stop and sliding into one of the larger opening that were used for dragons. A few of the staff gave him a wave, which Liberty returned with a nod of his own. He was too distracted for anything more, his attention on the upper floors.

From where he was, he could see the flight deck through a series of windows and, if he rose onto his hind legs, he could peek into the lab that overlooked the flight deck. Liberty grumbled as he turned himself around, peering through the windows into where the crew was working. He spotted Fury, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of Steve as his captain walked in.

Steve paused for a moment before raising a hand, enough to let Liberty know that he was still alright. It wasn't the reassurance he needed, but he would have to wait. The expression on Steve's face said that this was something big.

Liberty grumbled and lowered his head to rest on his forelegs. His briefing had better come through, or he would squeeze as much of himself through the door and forcibly remind them that he had a vested interest in the proceedings.

* * *

Night fell before Liberty got any explanation. It was only because any damage would compromise the Helicarrier that he didn't. A growl had settled in his throat, the sound enough to keep most of the staff away from him.

Liberty didn't mean to scare them off; he just wanted to know what was going on. It was his crew on the line, his captain, and he had seniority over everyone currently in SHIELD. It didn't mean anything, because Fury still outranked him, but just being forgotten made him feel like an animal, something that lacked intelligence. Like they didn't realize that, where Steve went, he went also.

He lifted his head as the door opened, expecting to see Steve there. He let out a huff of disappointment when he saw that it was Natasha. The only heartening thing about her appearance was that she was in her suit, which meant that she was ready for action. Liberty stretched out his neck, humming agreeably when Natasha reached out to run a hand along his muzzle, walking up his side.

She walked to her favored spot, sitting right behind his elbow, tucked up against him on two sides. Liberty went to adjust the fold of his wing, about to drape it over her when she held up a hand. Liberty glanced back at her before resettling his wing. Whenever they had talked before, Natasha had insisted of the secrecy of Liberty's wing. Most people were cautious about approaching a dragon when it was awake. Approaching a dragon when it was sleeping was something that most humans were actively warned against.

At a loss of what to do, Liberty lowered his head to rest close to her. "Natasha?"

She waved a hand, the motion enough to get him to shut his mouth. Natasha gave him a slow nod, turning her attention back to the control center visible through the windows. "I guess they haven't told you anything."

"Nothing."

"Well, Coulson is suffering through a strong case of hero worship." Liberty saw the corner of her mouth twitch up in something like a smile before she schooled her face back into its usual expression. "And everyone has been busy with Banner, so it's no surprise that they've forgotten about you. What did you find out from the dragons?"

Liberty snorted, using the sound to disguise a laugh. Of course she would know that he would be poking around. Natasha kept abreast of nearly everything going on in SHIELD by talking to the dragons, who could be notorious gossips when they wanted to. He had learned enough from her to take what information he could, even if teasing it out of other dragons was a pain. It had helped plenty of times when it had only been the four of them running missions. Clint and Coulson had gone to get the layout of the area while he and Natasha had gone to find where the dragons had gathered to find out what kind of information the local dragons could give him.

He hummed, feeling Natasha drag a hand down his shoulder to his elbow. "They told me that there was an experiment gone wrong and then an attack. Two dragons turned traitor."

"Two dragons were compromised." The use of the word made him tense, Natasha continuing her steady stroke to keep him calm. "Like Barton. Did you hear about the New Mexico incident?"

Liberty gave a quick nod. They had borrowed Coulson and Clint for that mission too, but both of them had come back alright. Natasha had been out on the West Coast with Tony Stark while he had been under strict orders to remain in New York. Fury had not forgiven him for what had happened the last time Tony had gotten himself into trouble. It was enough that Stark had been showboating and nearly getting himself killed, they hadn't needed a dragon in the mix. Liberty had heard about the two missions from the other dragons that had flown his crew in and out and from Clint.

Natasha paused in her stroking, talking quietly. "It's Loki. Dr. Selvig recognized him when he came through the…rift." She waved one hand when she spoke the word, making a face of disgust. "According to the reports, he had a staff that he used to take people."

"How?"

"It's magic, or science, I don't know. But it turned them, people and dragons. We lost a lot of people that day, to Loki and the cave in." It was just a statement from Natasha, no emotion attached to it. What Liberty couldn't tell if it was because she wasn't allowing herself any or if she didn't have any attached to the incident. "We're tracking Loki now, along with the Tesseract."

Liberty snarled at the mention of the cube. He dug his talons into the floor, releasing them a moment later. The cube had been nothing but trouble. He didn't know what it actually did, what its purpose was, but two people had been lost to him because of it. "I want to destroy it."

"Fury wouldn't like it."

"Then I want it gone."

Natasha smirked, tipping her head to the side so she could look at the eye that was facing her. "I take it you're in."

"Clint is part of my crew. I won't abandon him."

"Good. And Captain Rogers is in this too, Fury wants to use his expertise. And I think he feels the same way about that cube as you do. It won't take much to bring me around to that point of view either. I don't like this magic stuff."

"Maybe you should sit this out then. The Tesseract tends to bend the line between science and magic."

"Not until we get Clint back. If we can't rescue that idiot than no one can."

Liberty was glad to hear her chuckle, leaning slightly against her before scooting back so he wouldn't crush her. They leaned against each other for a while, Liberty glad that someone had remembered him. He let his wing down a bit so the leading edge rested against Natasha's shoulders. "What's going on that's keeping you all distracted?"

"We're running searches. Banner is looking for the Tessseract, we're looking for Barton and Loki. We're playing the waiting game at the moment."

Liberty huffed and lifted his head to peer into the control room. He couldn't see all the banks of computers, but the ones facing him were just filled with schematics of the Helicarrier. The people working on the other side of the room must have been the ones that were tracking. Liberty attempted to wiggle closer, craning his head on the off chance that he would catch something, but there was still nothing, just Fury walking along the top bank of computers.

He lowered his head again, glaring at the door. He hated waiting, not when he could be planning flight paths or getting briefed on the situation in full, not with what other people had heard. Liberty stretched out his legs, about to turn and ask if there was a cow he could eat or if he had time to fly back to the covert when the door opened.

He pulled back his forelegs as Steve ducked in. "We've found him."

Natasha pushed up onto her feet, Liberty stretching out his neck so he could be close to Steve. Steve shifted so he could rest a hand against Liberty's muzzle, including Natasha in their triangle. He nodded at Natasha. "We found Loki."

Liberty saw Natasha's shoulder's slump for a moment before she squared them again. "Where?"

"Stuttgart, Germany. We're all going." He nodded over at Liberty and took a step back. "There's a ground crew waiting to fit you out with what we'll need. Miss. Romanoff-"

"Natasha."

"Natasha," Steve corrected himself without missing a beat, "get harnessed up and make sure everything is secure. I'll be down as soon as I get into the suit they've got for me."

"Permission to bring a few people in as backup, to watch the prisoner."

Steve glanced over at Natasha, looking her up and down. "That might be thinking too far ahead."

"It's what I'm good at, preparing for the unexpected."

"I'll let you get to it then." Steve smiled at Liberty before walking out of the room, Liberty raising his head so he could track his captain until he was out of sight.

As soon as Steve was gone, he lowered his head to look at Natasha. "You got this?"

"Of course. Go bully the new ground crew. They're all new recruits." She patted his jaw. "Have fun."

He hissed at her, not fully meaning it. In any case, the new recruits that came to SHIELD were far better than the ground crews that Liberty had dealt with in the Air Force. There would still be the normal amount of fumbling and bad balancing, but they would correct themselves quickly. Fury had a zero tolerance policy when it came to the safety of the dragons that worked with SHIELD.

Liberty pulled himself out of his bay, walking out to the second runway. It was easy enough to clamber up onto the main deck, Liberty careful to avoid where Fergal was spread out. From the way that the Dakota was lying down, Fergal had managed to find the one side that made him comfortable. Liberty bobbed his head toward Viatrix, the Grey Widowmaker returning the greeting before going back to trilling at Fergal. He wanted to go over and have a few more words with them, especially Fergal. He wanted to see if the dragon had seen Loki, but his attention was taken by the nervous group of men and women that had gathered by the door to the interior of the Helicarrier. It wasn't too hard to guess that they were the new recruits, intimidated either by his size or because he was _the_ Sentinel of Liberty. He lowered his head just in case, it made him loom less. It still didn't relax the recruits, but maybe it would keep them from being less then through.

Resigning himself to the experience, Liberty walked over to them and settled on his belly. He rested his head on the ground and closed his eyes, letting the recruits swarm over him to ready him for his flight over the Atlantic.

* * *

Liberty shook his head as he flew through a thin cloud, blinking rapidly as he tried to catch sight of the Fleur-de-Nuit that was leading the way. They had stopped by a covert in France and picked up their escort, the Fleur de-Nuit equipped with the weapons that Liberty had hauled over the Atlantic.

It hadn't been a strenuous flight over, Liberty only landing on one dragon carrier to snatch a few hours of sleep. But he was in better shape than most dragons, used to flying great distances in short amounts of time. He wasn't one of the modern Firecrackers, the ones that had been crossbred with Longwings and courier breeds that were known for their stamina, but he could keep up with them well enough. It had only taken a day, which was the speed that most dragons could hope for, to get to Spain. He had spent the rest of the day flying to the covert and then to Germany as soon as the sun had started to set. Loki hadn't been seen during the day, so Liberty had gotten to take his time instead of exhausting himself. The Fleur-de-Nuit was for back up.

Liberty hissed as the other dragon suddenly dove, having to turn quickly to keep up with it. He was about to shout at it when Steve's voice came over the comm. "Word from the Helicarrier. Loki made his move. The Fleur saw a crowd before the transmission finished. Apparently, we're a bit late."

"Let's make up for lost time then." Liberty heard Steve begin to relay what their plan was, his full attention on the city below.

Closer to the ground he could see better with the lights from the city, something that would hinder the Fleur-de-Nuit. Of course, the dragon would be trained to listen to orders to make up for the loss of its excellent night vision. It would remain above to provide support if the two stolen dragons came to interfere.

Liberty gave the sky a quick sweep before focusing on the crowd below. They were all tightly packed at one of the plaza, meaning that he would have to land on the street or on the clear side, both of which would trap the innocent people. He snarled at their placement, about to call back to Steve for a plan when he heard a faint click from behind him. Liberty turned his head to ask when Steve was doing when he saw his captain plummet past him.

He roared, reaching out with his talons to snatch at Steve, only to miss. The roar did cause people to scatter, although some of them ran because Loki leveled his staff at an old man. Liberty pulled out of his dive, twisting so he was landing on his hind legs instead of all four at once. There were still too many people rushing around and he didn't want to step on any of them. As it was, some were lingering in his shadow, probably hoping that his bulk would protect them.

Liberty glanced up at where Steve and Loki were fighting, keeping track of Steve's shield through the sound of the vibranum bouncing off objects. He ducked his head when the shield spun by, baring his teeth as he saw Steve go down again. He was well aware that Steve could handle himself, but he kept staring at the scepter that Loki was using to both block Steve's attacks and knock him around. The blue blast had not been repeated since Steve had deflected it, but Liberty had learned enough about the scepter that he didn't want it anywhere near his captain. So, when Steve went down with the scepter against the back of his head, Liberty lost his patience.

He lunged forward with a roar, the sound making Loki look up. For a moment, there was fear in the man's eyes, but then he was bringing the scepter around. Liberty saw Steve roll out of the way, enough of an opening for him to open his jaws and let fire rain out.

A flap of his wings got him airborne, Liberty keeping his feet off the ground as he spat fire onto Loki from above. It gave Steve the chance to kick out Loki's legs, sending the man to the ground.

Liberty thumped back to the ground, circling the plaza as he waited for the next place he could steal in. Steve had an opening, but he missed it entirely by hesitating a beat longer than he should have done. As it was, the kick that Steve aimed at Loki's head was easily deflected and his shield went spinning off to the side.

He lunged to cover the shield, crouched over it and snarling. He noticed that the noise drew Loki's attention, the man glancing over his shoulder at him. Liberty couldn't tell what the man was thinking, but he could see that Loki was frightened of him at least. But he didn't react to fear the way Liberty was used to. Most people ran or backed off. Loki reacted like a dragon and struck out.

Blue light blasted out from the scepter, Liberty rising to his hind legs and pivoting to avoid it. He came back to earth with a thud, the sound of his landing obscuring what Steve yelled. But then his captain was attacking Loki, punching and kicking with no real plan; Liberty could tell that much by how half of Steve's blows didn't quite hit right. Steve wasn't thinking ahead, wasn't fighting smart, and it would get him hurt. Liberty reared back his head, ready to shout for Steve to draw him back over. Something was wrong with his captain, and he was going to make sure that Steve had his shield and the bulk of a dragon between him and Loki.

The intended shout turned into a shower of sparks, Liberty lunging forward to try and get some of the fire to land on Loki. A few sparks landed on the man's cape, the ends flaring up before Loki passed a hand over them. Liberty flapped his wings just enough to get his feet off the ground as blue light flickered over the ends of the cape and the fire went out.

He landed with a hiss, swiping at Loki with his talons to try and herd him closer to Steve. If he could line Loki up properly, then Steve could score a hit that actually hurt the man. Maybe then, he could pin Loki down and bring the Fleur-de-Nuit down to package him up. But Liberty was not going to risk attacking while Steve was in the way or when he was in danger of being turned. He didn't particularly want to find out what it felt like.

Liberty turned, swiping his tail out to try and knock Loki's legs out from under him. As expected, Loki stepped forward to avoid the blow, but Steve wasn't ready. Steve was turning around for a kick. Liberty hissed and crowded up on Loki, hoping that he could get the man into Steve's range only to have Loki throw his captain into his side.

He crouched to catch Steve, not getting a moment to talk strategy with his captain before Steve was pushing away and rushing Loki again. Liberty stared after him, shaking his head. Steve was forcing Loki back away from him, making Liberty have to scurry around the edge of the plaza in awkward skip-hops, taking to the air to avoid the blue blasts that were sent his way whenever Loki got the chance. Liberty flapped his wings hard, getting a partial rotation as the blue energy tried to reach up for him, coming down on the other side of Steve.

Maneuvered into a bad position, Liberty could only hiss at Loki, which wasn't impressive or helpful. He curled around Steve to protect him better, but he kept having to shift to allow Steve the freedom of movement he needed, not that it helped. Steve was still not fighting right, still getting in his own way. And Loki was taking full advantage of it.

Liberty jerked his head out of the way as the shield went flying his way, about to snap at Steve when Loki sent his captain flying in the other direction. He meant to go after Steve, but he had to jump to the side to avoid another blast of blue energy and then press himself to the ground to avoid the shield as it came ricocheting back. He snarled, glaring at Steve and Loki.

This was not what he had thought when he had heard that Steve was still alive. It was not what he had thought when they had been assigned the mission. Everything between them had fallen back into place so easily; he thought that he and Steve would be able to fall back into this the same way. And it frustrated him to no end that nothing was working the way it was supposed to.

Liberty brushed his head against his shoulder, activating the communicator by his ear. "Natasha."

"The guy's all over the place."

Liberty gave a short nod. He wasn't going to risk Steve any longer when there was another dragon that could help take Loki down. He was about to give the call when the communicator crackled again, Liberty jumping at the sound. He heard a snippet of a music before it was rerouted through the radio speakers that were on the Fluer-de-Nuit and the one on his own back. Liberty cocked his head at the loud music, not sure that he recognized the song, but he recognized the sound, and he recognized the voice that followed.

"Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?"

He tipped his head to look up at the sky, hearing the sounds of the fight behind him stop as Tony roared in. He wrinkled his nose at the scent of Tony's suit, not sure that he liked the smell of the Iron Man suit, but Tony seemed to enjoy it. But the sight of something other than a dragon or one of the few planes that were in the sky set him on edge. The sky was _their_ place.

Liberty stood up as Tony swooped in and blasted Loki. The man grunted and went down, Liberty snarling and lunging forward. He stopped by Steve as Loki went to sit up again. Liberty puffed himself up and opened his wings to look bigger, nearly ruining the rumbling growl that he had going. The start that Loki gave was gratifying enough, the man was terrified of dragons and Liberty would use that to his advantage. The fear was gone a moment later, Liberty snapping his mouth shut at the whine of Tony's suit. He turned his head to look at Tony, staring at the array of weapons that were aimed at Loki.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games."

Loki looked at the three of them, before raising his hands. Liberty saw the staff rise, lunging forward before he thought the motion through.

He bowled Loki over, planting a foot on the man to keep him in place. Sure that Loki wouldn't escape; he lowered his head to grab onto the staff. His teeth slipped a bit on the gold, catching a hold on one of the raised portions on the staff. As soon as his hold was secure, Liberty started to whip his head back and forth, like he was tearing a particularly tough chunk of meat off of a cow. It was more violent than he needed to be, but Loki had threatened Steve and Liberty did not take kindly to threats to his captain.

Loki resisted for a moment, Liberty expecting the man's arm to snap at the first shake, but Loki was able to hold against him. He held his arm stiff as Liberty tried to pull the staff free and it was enough resistance to make Liberty adjust his stance and try harder.

Behind him and through the communicator, he could hear Steve and Natasha ordering him to stop. He growled, low and loud, increasing the force behind his shaking. Liberty didn't know whether it was the growl or the shaking, but Loki let go of the staff. He backed away quickly, spitting the staff out, settling a foot over it to make sure that Loki didn't reach for it again, To his disappointment, it didn't look like the man wanted to. Loki just raised his arms again, focusing on the two humans.

Tony was talking to Loki, but Liberty ignored him in favor of Steve. His captain was strolling over, Liberty glancing over the uniform. It was strange to see Steve in the uniform of Captain America again, but it was good. They were back to doing their job.

He lowered his head to look at Steve, surprised to see him scowling. Liberty glanced up to where the Fluer-de-Nuit was landing in the plaza, the dragon curling around Tony and Loki. Sure that things were under control, Liberty looked back down in time for Steve to slap his shoulder. "What was that?"

Liberty stared at him, surprised at how tense Steve looked. "I was making sure that he didn't get to you. Getting the staff away was priority."

"Without ripping his arm off."

"I don't think I would have been able to." Liberty looked up at Loki. "He was able to resist."

"He's the brother to a god."

"God?"

Steve shrugged. "Apparently."

Liberty snorted, giving the man another glance. He hadn't been warned that Loki was a god; he had just thought that it was another villain like the ones that he had been chasing around. He wasn't sure that he believed that Loki was a god at all. It was a concept that dragons didn't have. Liberty sniffed and lowered his head. "That would have been good to know in the briefing."

"Well, we got him." Steve didn't sound quite as confident as he used to, but it was enough for Liberty to nod. His captain sighed and leaned against him, absently patting his shoulder. "Are you good to make the flight back?"

Liberty nodded. "I can make it out into the Atlantic. If we radio ahead now, the Helicarrier could meet us halfway and fly us the rest of the way back. I hate to admit it, but the Helicarrier flies faster than I do."

Steve chuckled, Liberty glad to get that out of him. It wasn't much, but it was almost like the way they had come down from their missions before. The only thing missing was the rest of the Howling Commandos, but the pain wasn't as sharp for Liberty anymore. Steve would be feeling their absence keenly though; he hadn't gotten the time to get used to them being gone. They had been there one day and then completely gone the next. Even Peggy hadn't been a clean cut, because she had been young when Steve had gone under and old later. And it had to have felt like a single day for Steve, no matter what anyone told him.

The heavy thud of footsteps made him turn his head to the side, Liberty perking up when he saw Tony strolling over. He lowered his head so that Tony could pat his muzzle, disappointed when Tony didn't remove the gauntlet. It was a sign of affection, but it wasn't the same as a human hand, just metal with an indentation in the center where the repulsor was fired from. Liberty hated the mask as well because it just gave him a voice. A voice was all well and good, but he was used to body language, things that could be inferred from the eyes and mouth of a person. Plus the suit blocked out any smell or sign of injury. It was like Tony was purposefully muffling himself and Liberty didn't like it.

Tony didn't seem to notice, walking steadying around in front of Liberty. "I didn't blow out your ears with my theme there, did I?"

Liberty snorted. "You call that music?"

"You're just a grumpy old man in scales."

Liberty huffed, about to fire back his own rebuttal when Tony came around to his other side. He couldn't see Tony tense up, but he went still when he saw Steve standing close by Liberty. His captain looked Tony up and down. "Mr. Stark."

One of Tony's hands clenched before he let it relax, Tony barely inclining his head towards Steve. "Captain."

Liberty expected more out of the two, but Steve just gestured over to where the Fleur-de-Nuit was being unloaded. "They secured him yet?"

"I don't know. They don't like sharing secrets with me."

Tony wandered off, leaving Liberty to stare after him. They had never gotten a chance to catch up after Afghanistan. Liberty had been ordered to remain in the covert as punishment and then he had been busy with missions around the world. Tony had sent a package of new tech as a thank you, or that was what Liberty assumed it meant. He had only kept up with Tony through the news and what Coulson and Natasha had brought back to him, which wasn't a lot. And it didn't look like he would be getting much out of Tony this time around either.

He lowered his head to rest on the ground, watching as Tony went to make a nuisance of himself. If he wanted to make sure that Tony was doing alright, it was not the time or the place. He was on a mission and Tony was in the suit, both of those meant work came first.

"Hey." He looked over at Natasha, watching as she stood in front of him and adjusted her harness. "We're going to load you up and get back as fast as possible. I already called the Helicarrier."

"Right."

Before Liberty could remind her, Natasha was up on his back doing a check of his harness. It was a routine they had settled into after Budapest. His harness had torn in a few places while he had been running through the streets and no one had noticed until they were in the air. Clint had nearly fallen from his back while Liberty had been going at full speed. And, although it had been a good bit of revenge after Clint had spend most of the mission holed up in a coffee shop, it wasn't worth almost losing him.

As if she could read his mind, Natasha rested a hand on his side, only removing it when she had to use both of her hands to check his harness. It was a small bit of comfort as they went through a procedure that Clint had insisted upon. And more than enough for him to know that someone else still hurt because Clint had been taken from him, and that Natasha would be there when they were given permission to rip Loki to shreds for what he had done to them.

Natasha hopped off his back, Liberty standing up as soon as she was off. He shook himself down, feeling the harness slip back into place without catching or hurting him. Then again, the harness was Stark Tech, so Liberty didn't doubt that it was the height of technology and comfort. He nodded at Natasha and lowered himself to the ground. "All lies well."

"Good." She turned and began shouting orders to the SHIELD agents, Liberty tuning them out as he felt Steve climb onto his back.

He expected Steve to stay something to him, even to give him a run down of the usual warnings to an exhausted dragon to make sure that Liberty didn't push himself. But Steve was silent which made Liberty worry. He looked out over the plaza, watching as the prisoner was moved as Steve clipped himself in.

* * *

The night was cold as they flew back towards the Atlantic, which meant that Liberty had to flap nearly constantly. His only respites were the strong gusts of winds that came over the mountains, allowing him to spread his wings and glide for a bit. The thermals that he was used to catching for long distance flying were gone, and wouldn't begin to reform until the air warmed up.

Liberty snorted, banking slightly to take advantage of another gust of air. He could only wonder at how the Fluer-de-Nuits handled night flying with so much ease, although being able to see perfectly well in the dark probably helped. Liberty could see pretty well himself, but everything at a distance was just vague shadows, which made him nervous. He was high enough to avoid hitting any mountains, but he couldn't be sure. It had been a long time since he had flown over Germany.

A rumble of thunder made him look to the north, Liberty searching the dark sky for clouds before reverting to his other senses. The air was cold already, but the temperature hadn't dropped like it would do because of a storm, nor did the air smell like rain or ozone. He could be hearing a storm that was right on their tail or off to one side. Liberty grunted and flapped harder, putting on more speed. He didn't want to be caught in a storm, not with a prisoner on board. Loki could take advantage of any panic to lunge for the staff that they had secured in a box in his belly netting. Liberty didn't want to try and fight the god, not with a crew on his back.

Behind him, he could hear the murmur of voices as the humans talked. He couldn't hear exactly what they were talking about, the wind carrying most of the sound away, but he could hear the rhythm. It was tense and clipped, something that set him on edge as well. Then again, all prisoner transports had been the same. Everyone wanted the operation to go off without a hitch.

Liberty risked a glance over his shoulder, marking off the shadows of his crew and prisoner before looking ahead again. Steve was in his customary place at the base of his neck, Tony right beside him. It was strange to feel the weight of the metal suit on his back and know that Tony wasn't in harness. It was enough to make him want to turn his head and demand that Tony put on a harness, despite the fact that he knew that Tony could easily fly away if they got into any trouble.

Behind them was Natasha, crouched by the radio as she reported in to the Helicarrier. Liberty caught snatched of the conversation with Fury, only giving the radio his full attention when Fury directed an order to him. "Just get him here. We're low on time."

Liberty gave a grunt, the sound loud enough to carry over the radio as he tried to increase his speed just a little bit more. He was pushing towards a speed that he couldn't hold over long distances, but it would be worth it to get to the Helicarrier in time. Whatever they wanted to question Loki on Liberty didn't care much about. He would let Fury and the others work on Loki as he ate, and then he would demand his answers. As long as he knew where Clint was, he would be content.

He felt people moving over his back, probably the two agents shifting to a more comfortable position to watch over Loki. The prisoner was cuffed and clipped in the center of Liberty's back, protected by Liberty's wings as he flew. Anyone who wanted to take Loki would have to fight through Steve, Tony, Natasha and the two agents, all while Liberty was prepared to spit fire at them. It would be a tough task for any dragon and crew.

But the fact that he hadn't been able to smell any of the missing dragons was worrying.

If Loki had completely taken over Aseneth and Zephyrinus, then they would have stayed close to him. But they hadn't been there to defend him or even within scent range. If they weren't with Loki, then where were they? Being a middleweight like he was, Zephyrinus wasn't too much of a worry. Liberty had almost a decade of experience over the Yellow Reaper, enough that he was sure enough of the outcome of a fight between the two of them. Aseneth was the one that worried him. The Defendeur-Brave was a heavyweight and larger than him in every way, plus her tail ended in a dangerous hook. Liberty didn't want to risk tangling with her, because he was sure that he would come out worse for that fight.

Thunder rumbled again, Liberty glancing in the direction that the front seemed to coming in. He lifted his head above where he usually held it while flying, trying catch a glimpse of the little bit of scent from other dragons. When nothing came to him, he lowered his head with a growl, glad when Steve rested a hand on his neck. But his captain's attention wasn't on him, it was on their prisoner.

"I don't like it."

Liberty didn't know who Steve was talking to. All of their communicators were set to his private channel now that Natasha was done speaking to the Helicarrier. She would switch their line if anything came in from Fury. Liberty turned his head slightly so he could see Steve and Tony out of the corner of his eye. He was about to ask Steve to explain when Tony beat him to it.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it ever being that easy." Liberty saw Steve reach up to rub at his arm, mentally marking that spot down to check for a bruise or worse injury later. "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."

It was too dark to see much body language, and Tony's was muffled by his suit. But Liberty recognized the tone of voice. It wasn't a threat, but he didn't like it, especially directed at his captain.

He turned his head more, baring his teeth. He wasn't sure that Tony could see it in the dark, since his helmet was off, or that Tony would recognize it for what it was. In all the time that Liberty had known Tony, he had only bared his teeth in jest, just a play threat that Tony knew he could easily laugh off. It was different know, and Liberty hoped that Tony got the distinction. Steve was his captain and he would be respected. Liberty liked Tony, but Steve was someone that he would defend against everyone.

Liberty tried to ease the threat with a warning rumble. "Tony…"

Steve held up a hand to him, Liberty automatically obeying the command and quieting down. He couldn't see Tony's face, but the man had tensed up. Liberty hoped that it meant that Tony got his message. If Tony disproved of Steve, then he could disprove of his captain elsewhere.

He was calmed by a hand on his neck, Steve patting him as he continued to speak to Tony. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

Tony snapped out of his surprise, going right back at Steve. "There a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

Liberty glanced at them both before snorting and turning his head so he was looking forward again. Now he just wanted to snap at the both of them, because their snapping at each other was going to drive him crazy. Liberty liked Tony; he had since Tony had been a child. But Steve was his captain, Steve came first. And the difference between the two of them was going to tear him apart. If Steve and Tony were always going to be arguing with each other, then Liberty would have to keep threatening Tony to back off. And then everything would start to fall apart, something that Liberty didn't want. With Steve back things were supposed to get better instead of getting worse.

Thunder rumbled, like nature was taunting him. Liberty snarled at the storm, the sound enough to quiet the different conversations going on along his back. In the silence that descended, Natasha was the only one that spoke up. "Where is this coming from?"

That she didn't know worried him. Natasha was sitting at Coulson's station, working the radio, keeping track of where the Helicarrier or dragons transports were and keeping an eye on the weather. If the storm didn't show up on any of her read outs, then they were in trouble. Liberty gave the sky a glance, trying to work out where the top o the clouds were. If he could climb above them before whatever storm it, they would be able to ride out whatever was coming with more ease. He was about to ask Natasha about how the sky above them looked when Steve spoke up.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightening?"

A flash of lightning arced down, Liberty banking quickly to avoid it. He hissed at the lighting, angling up to rise about the cloud cover. It would be too dangerous for them to remain within striking distance. Another flash had him looking back at his crew, about to order them all to prepare for rough flying, when he saw the look of wary anticipation on Loki's face.

The prisoner glanced up at all of them, raising one shoulder slightly in a shrug. "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

The slight bit of warning was enough for Liberty to abandon his easy climb and try to get above the clouds as fast as he could. He beat his wings hard to gain altitude, Liberty closing his eyes as lightening flashed again. He shook his head to clear out the afterimages, opening them just in time to catch something streaking down out of the corner of his eye. Liberty tried to turn so he could face what was coming, but the object was too fast.

It landed on his back, Liberty roaring in pain at the sudden heavy landing. He twisted in the air, trying to get a look of what had hit him, getting glimpses of another shape on his back before his attention was taken by Steve's voice coming over the communicator. "We've been boarded. Shake him off."

Liberty stopped his frantic twisting and climbed up another foot before turning and plummeting. He flicked his wings out to put him into a spin before clamping them close to his body. As soon as he had gathered speed, he began to shake and twist while in a spiral, flicking out his wings to make abrupt direction changes. When the weight still remained, Liberty roared and stopped his fall just before the mountains.

His talons scraped against the side of a mountain as he used it to push away, hearing shouts from his crew. Liberty trusted that they were strapped in well, because he had been given the one order that he had been trained not to stop. When he was boarded, he was to do everything he could to fling the invaders from his back.

Liberty bucked in the air, twisting and twining around himself to get a chance to snap at the boarder. His teeth came close to closing on the man, but they scraped over something metal that gave him a shock. Liberty pulled back with a screech, shaking his head to get the tingle to go away. He was still trying to recover when the weight lifted off his back and flew away. Liberty raised his head to track it, settling down on a nearby ledge.

He panted for breath, turning his head to look back at his crew. He snarled at the sight of a torn harness, the leather slapping against his side when he moved. By its position, it had held Loki. Either their prisoner had fallen of while Liberty had been shaking or the thing that had landed on him had freed Loki.

He snarled and looked over at where Natasha and Steve were crouched by the radio and other sensors. "What was that?"

Natasha barely looked up from what she was doing. "Another Asgardian?"

Liberty tipped his head at the unfamiliar name, looking over at Steve. His captain just shrugged, leaning over Natasha shoulder as they looked at something.

"You think the guy's a friendly."

"It doesn't matter." Tony clambered up from where he had slid from, Liberty not sure if Tony had taken off during his attempts to shake the invader off. He inspected his back for burn marks, not sure if the repulsors would actually burn him or not. His search was distracted as Tony resettled the helmet over his head. "If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract is lost."

Liberty heard the whine of the repulsors warming up, about to snap at Tony to take off somewhere other than his back.

Steve beat him to the punch, storming across Liberty's back. "Stark, we need a plan of attack!"

"I have a plan. Attack." He pushed off of Liberty's back, jumping into the air before activating the repulsors.

Liberty followed Tony' flight away from him, settling back with a huff. He should have expected as much from Tony, he was still the reckless child that he had known. But he was right; they had get to Loki before he got too far from him. And Liberty wanted to see what had landed on his back without the assistance of another dragon or a plane. He turned his head to look at Steve and Natasha. "He has a point."

He thought he saw Steve flinch, a bit taken aback by the reaction. What had he said to make Steve look at him like that? He opened his mouth to demand an answer when Steve turned away from him.

His captain walked past Natasha to stand back in his usual position. Liberty heard a rattle as Steve checked his shield where it was clipped to Liberty's harness. There were two more clips as Steve secured himself again. "Liberty."

Liberty nodded and stood up, about to jump off the ledge when Natasha spoke up. "I'd sit this one out, Cap."

"I don't see how I can."

Natasha snorted, not looking away from her array of sensors. "These guys come from legends, they're basically gods."

Liberty moved to the edge of the ledge, waiting for the signal. Natasha had warned him that they were gods, but that just meant that they had to be taken care of quickly. He had never faced gods in his time with SHIELD, but he had fought off people who thought that they were gods or ones who seemed to have the power of gods. There was nothing that had been able to face up to his crew, his ability to breathe fire or to his strength. They had the advantage of numbers on their side, for what it was worth. And they had no other choice; they needed Loki to get back Clint.

He leveled a look at Natasha, knowing that she knew that just as well as he did. But she wasn't looking at him, she was watching Steve. He saw her reaching down to adjust her own straps, that the only warning that he got before Steve reached down to rest a hand on his neck, tapping out a rhythm with his fingers. It was one of the signals they used during the war, a command hidden in what looked like a gesture of comfort. Steve was telling him to get ready to fly.

Liberty shifted, getting his feet into a better position as he leaned towards the edge of the ledge. He spread his wings, waiting for the signal to take off as Steve checked over the rest of the crew. The tapping stilled for a moment, meaning that Steve was completing his last checks. Liberty shifted, tensing his hindquarters as he waited for the last tap.

"There's only one God, ma'am. And I'm pretty sure that he doesn't dress like that." Steve tapped two fingers against Liberty's neck, Liberty pushing off the ledge and snapping open his wings.

The smell of ozone was strong in the air and easy enough to follow, just as easy as the bright spot in the distance that had to be Tony. Liberty flew after them, catching a few clicks as the SHIELD agents loaded their guns, something that Liberty thought would be useless. If this man was a god, there was no chance that he would just stand and allow himself to be shot at.

A flash of light attracted his attention, Liberty ducking his head to stare at the forest below him. There was already a swathe of trees cleared, a trail that would lead him right to whoever was fighting. It was safe to assume that it was Tony; Liberty had seen enough footage of Tony fighting to recognize the destruction that came with the suit. He circled once to make sure of the trail before swooping low and following it.

Ahead, he could hear the metallic reverberations of battle, Liberty glancing back at Steve.

It took a Steve a moment longer that usual to come up with a plan, Liberty pushing back his unease. Steve was human, without the better eyesight that Liberty had. Even with his eyes, half of the landscape was still vague shadows. Steve was going to go in cautious until he knew the terrain for sure.

"There!" Liberty jerked his head to the side, catching sight of a flash of lightening. He slowed his flight, circling a bit further away from the fight. If the god could call on lightening, he didn't want to get struck. He had seen dragons that had gotten struck by lightening and it was an ugly mess.

Liberty gave a tight circle so he could look back at Steve. It took him a while to get the slow nod from Steve that meant his captain had worked everything out to his satisfaction.

Steve leaned out to point at the area where the fight was happening. "Drop me off there and then head for where Natasha points you. Secure Loki and come when we're done. I don't want our ride to be messed up by this."

He nodded, coming out of his circle to drift over the site of the fight. On his back, he heard the various clips of Steve unbuckling his harness and then the careful roll from his shoulder that launched Steve towards the ground. Unable to help himself, Liberty glanced down, getting a quick glimpse of a man in a cape and Tony fighting. He snorted and climbed, scanning the mountains.

"Eight o'clock." The shout came through the communicator as well as over the wind, Liberty banking to his left and spotting the man crouched on the mountain ledge. He adjusted for the wind coming off the mountains, moving quickly around the mountain.

He was under no illusions that he had managed to sneak up on Loki, his colors were too bright to allow him to hide. He would just have to rely on being faster than Loki.

Liberty didn't land completely on the ledge, still partially airborne as he reached for Loki. He heard Loki give a yelp before he placed a foot over the god. He didn't press down, aware that Fury would want Loki back alive. But he did tense the muscles in the foot, using his talons to create a cage. Liberty felt Loki press up against the pads on the bottom of his foot before the god gave in. It was an easy surrender, but Liberty was pleased with it. He just wanted to get back to the Helicarrier and eat. Dealing with a prisoner that fought him every step of the way would take more patience than he had.

Natasha shouted orders for the SHIELD agents to secure Loki, Liberty remaining crouched over him until the god was secure again. He snarled once at Loki, enjoying the way that the god jumped. It was immature of him, but it was something to vent his frustration on.

He jumped at a large explosion, only kept from jumping into flight by a sharp order from Natasha. Even then, he shifted in place, clawing at the ground as the agents secured their prisoner again. When they took longer than he had the patience for, he hissed. "Natasha…"

"Hold…Now!"

Liberty leapt into the air, using the momentum from his jump to plummet down. He only opened his wings to slow his fall, his talons catching on the top of the trees as he clawed a space for himself. There wasn't much work to be done, Liberty pushing through to a large space of felled trees.

He craned his neck around, spotting Steve getting up slowly. Liberty marked where Tony and the other god were, already striding over to where Steve was and curling around him. He gave Tony a quick glance before looking at the other god, baring his teeth in a visible threat. He didn't let up, even when Steve placed a warning hand on his muzzle. It was a matter of principle for him. He had been attacked and then the god had tried to kill his captain. In dragon terms, he was being polite for the circumstances, all for Steve's sake.

When no one moved, Liberty took a step forward, his eyes fixed on the god. He made sure to drape one wing over Steve, blocking him from sight. He only stopped when he was nose to nose with the god, only barely keeping a growl down. "Are we done here?"

For a moment, it looked like the god was ready to attack. The god lifted his hammer, holding it just above waist level for the space of a breath before lowering it again. Liberty tipped his head to the side, watching the god through one eye.

The god looked him over before giving a nod, enough of a surrender that Liberty could relax. He took a step back and lowered himself to the ground, waiting for the negotiations between Steve and the others to stop so he could head back to the Helicarrier and eat.

* * *

Liberty groaned at the sound of voices, opening one eye to glare at the crews in the lower bay. They were all talking softly, wary of the sleeping dragon. They all knew better than to raise their voices, especially when he had come in wobbly just a few hours before. They had been considerate enough to leave him a cow in his bay and then strip him of his harness as soon as he was done eating. There hadn't been time for him to get a scrub down, there wasn't really a place for him to get a bath without diving down to the ocean and Liberty didn't want to leave the Helicarrier that long.

Viatrix was perfectly capable of handling the prisoner if Loki escaped, but Fergal wasn't. The Dakota was still splayed out on the deck, occasionally making miserable noises. Besides, Loki was his prize so it was his job to look after him.

Liberty lifted his head to look at the windows, surprised to see the ones that opened up into the lab cracked open. He vaguely remembered seeing Tony wave down at him from there before he had drifted off to sleep again. It also explained where the noises were coming from.

He huffed and got to his feet, craning his neck to see in the windows. He was just too short to peek in, Liberty reaching up for one of the holds on the wall before standing up on his hind legs, using the extra height to peer in.

Dr. Banner was the only one to notice him, the man giving him a nervous glance before going back to his computer screen. Liberty tipped his head to the side, surprised at how jerky Banner's moves were, like he was trying to avoid something. Liberty narrowed his eyes, trying to drudge up what he knew about Banner. There wasn't much, most of the files in print far too small for him to read easily. But Banner was still someone to watch.

He turned his head to peer at the other end of the room, spotting Steve as his captain argued with Tony. From the way that Steve held himself, they had been talking about this for a while. Liberty pulled himself up higher, spreading his wings for balance so he could remain on his hind legs.

He had already bared his teeth at Tony once, and he still didn't like the fact that he had gone to that extreme. What he needed to do was mediate between the two of them and, hopefully, they could come to some sort of understanding. It had worked between Howard Stark and Steve during the worst of their arguments. It should work just as well for his captain and Howard's son. He eyed the windows, looking for the one that had been cracked open so he wouldn't have to bellow to be heard.

Liberty found the window two down from the one that he was peering through. He leaned over, nosing it open so he could rest his muzzle in through the floor. Anything else would look like a threat, which neither of them needed while they were feeling confrontational. And there was no reason to frighten Banner; he was just caught in the same room.

He settled his muzzle on the floor, expecting Steve to spot it immediately. Instead, his captain continued glaring at Tony, ignoring him completely. "I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

Liberty saw Tony's shoulders shift back, the move so obvious after seeing Tony in his armor for hours. "Following is not really my style."

Steve snorted, looking Tony up and down. "And you're all about style are you?"

Tony held his tension for a moment more before relaxing, Liberty recognizing the motion quickly. Tony had found his opening and he was going to use it. "Of the people in this room, which one is; A. wearing a spangly outfit, and B. not of use?"

"Tony!" Liberty snarled out the name before he could stop himself. He hadn't meant to, but he had seen how Steve had recoiled slightly, how the insult had been right on. And the slight slump of Steve's shoulders made Liberty want to curl around him, even more so when Steve returned to his rigid military posture.

But Steve's moment of pain was just as bad as the look of shock that Tony sent his way. Apparently, it was a day of firsts for them. The first time that Liberty had bared his teeth and Tony, and the first time he had argued with Tony. They had managed to get along before, and it was only when Steve came back that everything had started to fall apart. Liberty tightened his hold on the brace at that thought. He didn't want that to be true, he didn't want to choose. Tony was as much his as the rest of his crew was.

To his relief, Banner took the chance to speak up. The man came around the table, holding out his arms. "Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?"

It wasn't what he wanted, but Liberty would take anything to turn the conversation away from it had been going. He turned his head so he could look at Steve, trying to encourage Steve to leave the room. Nothing good would come of arguing, and Liberty was not going to stand having his loyalties torn in two. He had not waited seventy years for Steve just to have the friends he had built up around him get torn away. His captain was important to him, but not at the cost of everything that he had.

Steve didn't seem to get Liberty's silent message, but he did calculate that the odds were not in his favor. He looked over at the two other men before sighing and walking out of the room. "Just find the cube."

The two men didn't say anything until Steve was out of the room, Banner the only one to lean to one side to see Steve pass by one of the windows. Tony didn't move from the spot he was at until Banner went back to tracking the cube. Tony didn't go over to help Bruce; instead he stormed over to the window.

Liberty pulled his muzzle out of the window just before Tony slammed it shut. He whined, pressing the tip of his muzzle against the window as Tony leaned against it for a moment. He wanted to explain but Tony walked away before he could. Tony didn't even look back, already talking to Bruce, or complaining from what Liberty could hear through the glass.

He remained with his nose pressed against the window for a moment more before he lowered himself back down to the floor. There was nothing else for him to do by rest in the bay, but Liberty wasn't sure that he would be able to just drift off to sleep knowing that Tony was angry a floor above him. He couldn't go after Steve, his captain had headed deeper into the Helicarrier where dragons couldn't get access. Natasha was somewhere in the heart of the Helicarrier, probably looking after Loki. He didn't have anyone else to turn to inside the Helicarrier, which frustrated him. Seventy years of working for SHIELD and he only had a handful of people left for him.

Liberty rose to his feet, storming out of his bay and onto the secondary runway. From there it was easy enough to jump onto the main runway where Fergal was still stretched out. Liberty gave himself a shake, vaguely considering taking a quick flight down to the ocean to rinse himself off. If he did that, he would probably bring up a fish for Fergal, the Dakota enjoyed fish more than any other dragon that he knew.

He edged closer to where Viatrix and Fergal were resting, the Grey Widowmaker raising her head and nodding to him. Liberty returned the nod, taking it as permission to come closer. "How is he?"

"Sleeping well and it doesn't look like he'll be waking up for a while." She tipped her head to the side, nosing one of Fergal's wings to the side. "Hopefully he'll be able to fly back to the covert as soon as we are close to New York. He's taking up my favorite sunning space."

Fergal's only response to her was a huff, but he didn't attempt to move away. Liberty doubted that he would be able to move far anything. Fergal had picked a good spot to rest. It would be easy enough to roll off the side of the Helicarrier and get a good glide toward New York. Although, judging from the way that Fergal looked, they would have to call in two heavyweights from the covert to carry him back. Then they would be down one dragon on the Helicarrier when there were usually three. That in itself was worrying, because something was going on and they would be under staffed.

Liberty shook his head, turning the motion into a full body shake before settling down on the surface of the runway. It felt warm on his stomach, which calmed him. He was still tired from the flight back to Europe, still sleepy from the cow. He wouldn't be falling into a deep sleep, not annoyed by both Steve and Tony as well as being on edge from their prisoner and the man that had tried to steal him. Worse yet, he was useless at the moment, which made him irritable.

He curled slightly around Fergal, giving Viatrix a break on guarding him. He thought he heard Viatrix trill her thanks, but he didn't bother to reply. When the Grey Widowmaker clambered up onto his back to survey the Helicarrer from a new vantage point, Liberty wiggled his back a little. It was an empty threat that he could throw her off if he really wanted to, but Liberty enjoyed the company. Viatrix and Fergal, whatever condition they were in, were better company than his captain and the rest of the humans on the Helicarrier. He rested his chin on the runway and closed his eyes.

* * *

Steve glanced at the door, running a hand over the top and the side where the door slid back. He pressed his hand against the door, staring at the number that was painted there.

The way he saw it, he had two choices. One was to turn away and seek out the gym that had to be somewhere on the Helicarrier. Steve felt the need to punch through a punching bag or two to get the frustration that was Tony Stark out of his head. The other choice was to open the door and investigate like his gut was telling him to do. Until they got anything out of Loki or the Tesseract was found, Steve had nothing better to do. He was not going to go back into the lab, not without something to show.

He glanced down the hallway before straining against the door, pulling it forward off of its track. To his relief, an alarm didn't go off, but that didn't mean anything. The Helicarrier was crawling with SHIELD agents and Steve didn't know if he would be handed in or just given a stern warning on what his place was in the agency. He didn't know where he stood, and that was worrisome, just as worrisome as the idea that he wasn't being told everything. Like why SHIELD had the Tesseract in the first place.

The door creaked open, sliding slightly off its track before Steve was able to settle it again. A quick glance down the hall showed that everyone was busy elsewhere, the perfect time to slip into the room.

Steve eased his way through the opening, rocking the door shut behind him. It was still a bit ajar, not enough that anyone would come looking, but enough that he could easily push through quickly. His escape route was as secure as he could make it without Liberty around to keep watch for him.

He ducked under one of the walkways in the room, waiting in the darkness while he listened for the sound of anyone patrolling the room. Steve leaned back against one of the crates, staring at the door. With everyone on high alert, it would be better to call Liberty. The dragon was bound to know something that could help him figure out what exactly was strange about the situation. Liberty had been with SHIELD for seventy years, he was bound to know some secrets. That was enough to have him reaching up to turn on the communicator and contact Liberty, but he stopped.

Liberty had worked for SHIELD for seventy years, so there was no telling where his loyalties truly rested. Steve had just assumed that they were with him, because dragons had always sided with their captains. But he had seen dragons who had disagreed with their captains, refused to obey orders or had requested a new captain entirely. Steve had never thought that Liberty would be able to take that step, not after what had happened to his first captain and then to Steve himself. For seventy years Liberty had flown without a captain because of his respect for Steve. He could only hope that meant that Liberty wouldn't seek out another captain.

Steve was sure that the dragon wouldn't, because Liberty had been snapping at Tony Stark every since the man had arrived at the scene. Steve had seen Liberty's equipment, all top of the line Stark Tech. It wasn't so different from when they had been working with the Howling Commandos, but it was obvious that Tony liked Liberty well enough to make sure that the dragon always had the best. It was a small victory, a petty victory that Steve absolutely did not want to acknowledge, that Liberty still preferred him as his captain.

But Steve couldn't just believe that Liberty would agree with him forever. Nor could just believe that Liberty would just spill SHIELD secrets. So Steve was just going to have to find out himself. Maybe it would do something to ease the growing unease that had lodged in his chest ever since he had heard that the Tesseract was missing.

Fury had said that it had been hauled out of the ocean before he had, which probably meant that SHIELD had held onto it. But why would they want to do that when they had all the compiled reports of the Howling Commandos and Peggy stating that the cube should have either been destroyed or buried so deep that no one would find it again. Steve could think of a few reasons for why SHIELD would want the cube functioning, but he hoped that none of them would turn out to be true. Hopefully, it had been taken out to have a few scientists poke at it to see if it was still dangerous and they hadn't gotten to put it back before Loki attacked. Steve doubted that scenario completely, but he held on to the thin strand of hope.

Sure that there was no one guarding the room, Steve stepped out of the shadows and jumped for the walkway above him. He grabbed at the railing, using it to haul himself the rest of the way up. Steve dropped into a crouch, giving himself a moment to listen for anyone else before standing up.

The room was one of the storerooms on the hallway, one of just many that Steve was sure that scattered throughout the Helicarrier. Steve suspected that he didn't have the time to look through all of them, but he just needed the time to find something that would stop his feeling of unease, or prove that his gut feeling was right. But he was sure that his method would be faster than trying to search through all the files that SHIELD had stored. Poking around the storerooms would be faster than any program that Stark could come up with.

Steve gave the door one last glance before going to the end of the walkway and using the air duct there to hide himself. It would work as cover for a few crates, but Steve doubted that anyone would come looking for him here. They would seek out Liberty or Coulson first.

He started working his way down the row, opening the crates and digging through them. The first five yielded nothing but the weapons that Steve had seen the SHIELD agents carrying. Three more had what looked like spare parts or, alternatively, broken parts. Steve was surprised to find four more with spare pieces of leather and Kevlar for dragon harnesses in no particular order and mostly tangled.

Steve sighed and took a step back, looking down the row of crates. It seemed that the storeroom held nothing of interest in no particular order. He shook his head and considered checking out another room, there seemed to be nothing in the room. Then again, he had poked around less interesting Hydra bases and been rewarded. It was a matter of perseverance.

The rest of the row proved to be nothing but extra pieces, Steve sighing in frustration. He ducked into the next row, starting with the closest crate. He flipped the lid back with a little more force than necessary, ready for it to be nothing more than spare pieces of harness. Instead there was a sickeningly familiar helmet and gun nestled in foam.

Steve stared at the Hydra gun, backing up until his back was against the row of crates that he had first looked through. He took a deep breath and pulled the first layer of foam back, frowning at the second mask and gun. He was sure that the crate was full of them, relics from World War II. Steve would have passed them by, if they hadn't been in full repair. Steve picked up the gun, turning it over in his hands.

It looked just like something that Hydra had used, but it was different. The weight was lighter and it was sleeker, like the modern guns. He tipped it to the side to let the dim light of the storeroom play over it. The recharge chamber was gone as well, Steve used to the glowing blue streak along the top of the gun. There were other parts that were subtly different from the guns that he was used to, enough to prove that SHIELD had been messing with the original design.

He dropped the gun back in the crate and moved on to the next one. A single redone Hydra gun was gun was dangerous but, in the grand scheme of things, not as dangerous as the other alternative. If there was only one, then SHIELD had only succeeded in replication and improvements once. The other alternative was worse, the one where SHIELD had refitted enough weapons for them to be of use. The former he could let sit until whatever Loki was doing was figured out. The latter he would have to deal with quickly.

Steve flipped the next crate open, only lingering long enough to see that the crate held more Hydra weapons. He rushed down the row, opening crates to reveal more weapons.

He leaned over the last crate, staring at the weapons. None of them would work without the Tesseract, which they had lost after experimenting with. Banner had brought up a good point when he had pointed out that it was unlikely that SHIELD was going into clean energy, not without contacting Stark or Stark knowing about it. So weapons it was.

Steve sighed and glanced back toward the door. There was no time to wait out what Loki was doing, not when SHIELD getting the Tesseract back would mean that the guns would continue to be produced. He drummed his fingers against the crate, making his decision fast. Stark's program wouldn't dig into the files soon enough for him, so he would have to confront Fury. It was better to go straight to the source than to wait around. Steve was sure that asking Liberty about the project wouldn't help, no one would tell the dragon about the Hydra weapons, not if they wanted the dragon to remain on their side.

He picked up the closest gun and helmet, tucking them under his arm as he jumped from the walkway. Steve landed in a crouch, not bothering to check for anyone. It didn't matter if he was caught now. Even if someone tried to stop him, Steve was sure that he would just be escorted to Fury anyway. And any escort had to be done quietly, it would be better for anyone if Liberty didn't get involved. Steve didn't want to have to watch SHIELD trying to take down his dragon nor did he want to chance Loki getting free. It was a fine line to walk, and Steve would not enjoy a minute of it, especially if he had to keep Stark under wraps as well.

Steve shook his head and hitched the gun and mask into a more comfortable position before walking out into the hallway, intent on seeking out Fury.


	2. Chapter 2: Sometimes Goodbye

**Author's Note: **The title of this chapter comes from the Shinedown song, _Second Chance_.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance**

Liberty watched as the two heavyweight dragons lifted off, raising his head to follow them. Fergal was carefully suspended between the two of them; his captain perched on the right hand heavyweight. Liberty could see the man leaning over to speak to Fergal, keeping an eye on them until the three dragons were out of sight. The Helicarrier was close enough to the SHIELD covert that Fergal would be fine. Surgeons would be on hand to do what more they could, but Fergal would be out of commission for a while. That could either mean that they would be down a dragon or a new one would be sent from the covert to fill in for Fergal.

He snorted at the thought. There were a few middleweights that Liberty knew that were free or that he could stand. Too many of them were new recruits who could figure out their place in a pecking order that did not revolve around groups of dragons. Liberty didn't want to waste time reminding them that he was older and more decorated that most of them, especially when they saw themselves as the better specimens of the species. Liberty could only hope that Fergal would recover quickly, that way the replacement middleweight would be gone just as quickly.

Viatrix probably would agree with him, just on the simple principle that she was enjoying the sunning spot that she had gained. But that argument would never be used, not when they were both old enough to think about something other than possessions. The Grey Widowmaker seemed to enjoy the sunlight that she was getting. Viatrix had spread herself out as much as she could to take advantage of every bit of sun. She opened one eye to look at him, making a show of wiggling that Liberty rolled his eyes at.

He rolled onto his side, glancing around. Very few people were out on deck, Liberty huffing and refolding his wing. There were plenty of things to be done on the Helicarier and most of the agents were skulking around somewhere, either hoping for a chance to catch sight of the prisoner or one of the heroes that were parading around. It didn't matter, because everything seemed to be take care of, the planes secure and all the dragons taken care of. Still, it looked strange to have the deck so empty. It was almost enough to tempt him to drag himself back down to the lower decks; there would be someone to talk to there.

Then again, there would be nothing much for him down on the lower decks either. Steve was sure to be staying away from Tony Stark and the only bay close was right by the lab. There was a chance that Steve would go back into the command room, but Liberty doubted it. Steve was more likely to tuck himself somewhere he couldn't be found and draw or, if he was going to follow the pattern that he had set since he had come back from being frozen, find the gym and beat up a punching bag.

Liberty grumbled, glancing back at the entrance to the lower bay before making up his mind. If everyone was inside, then there was plenty of security. He could fly down for a quick dip in the ocean to clean himself up before flying back. It was something to do, something to keep him moving and distracted from what was going on in the Helicarrier.

He got to his feet and shook open his wings, nosing at a particularly itchy spot. When he turned his head around, he spotted something heading toward the Helicarrier. Liberty rose up slightly onto his hind legs, taking a deep breath to see if he could identify the creature coming in above the smells of the Helicarrier. He dropped back to all fours quickly, looking over to where Viatrix was staring at the incoming dragon. "It's a Yellow Reaper, I can see the markings on the wings."

Viatrix gave him a curt nod and stared at the dragon. "It looks familiar, smells familiar too. It's one of ours."

Liberty tipped his head to the side, running through the list of dragons that served with SHIELD. He knew most of them, save for the newest dragons still in training. But there was only one Yellow Reaper that served with SHIELD, the rest of the middleweights employed were Firecrackers like himself or other breeds native to America. The only problem was that the one Yellow Reaper that worked for them had been one of the ones that had been taken by Loki.

"Zephyrinus!" Viatrix shouted for the other dragon, getting to her feet. She swayed in place for a moment before looking over at him. "Get your captain. I'll keep them from landing."

She scurried to the end of the runway, puffing herself up as much as she could. It wasn't an impressive display, but Liberty knew that dragons would ignore it at their own risk. The Grey Widowmaker was fierce.

He dropped back down to the second runway, feeling the Helicarrier wobble slightly under his weight. Liberty didn't wait for the ship to right itself, hurrying into the lower bays. He didn't want to risk waiting and having Zephyrinus come flying in. The agents in the tower would recognize the dragon and the code that would have been passed to them, but none of them would really check until the dragon was too close to them. Years of being the top dogs had made them just a bit sloppy when Fury wasn't watching them all like a hawk.

The sound of raised voices made him pause. Liberty glanced down where the permanent ground crew was gathered around a pile of harnesses before slipping into his bay. He had meant to ask them where Fury was, but he could just jump right to the source. Fury was bound to be on the bridge, and he wouldn't miss Liberty sliding into place.

He lowered his head as he stepped into the bay, checking through the windows into the bridge. He could hear Fury, but the commander wasn't in his accustomed spot, which left Liberty with one more level to check. Liberty pulled his head up, reaching for the support bar and pulling himself up onto his hind legs. The Helicarrier rocked a bit, Liberty turning his head to look out towards the entrance to the lower bays. It didn't feel like a dragon landing, so he had enough time to get someone's attention. He flapped his wings for balance, letting go of the bar with one hand to tap at the glass to get someone's attention.

To his surprise, no one turned his way. They were all arguing in the center of the room, shouting at each other as tempers rose. Liberty growled under his breath, lowering his hand to grasp the bar again. If he shouted through the window then they would hear him, but he wanted to make sure that they couldn't just ignore him.

He nosed the window that Tony had shut earlier, surprised to find it lose. Tony must have opened it while he was on the runway. It was an easy thing to nudge the window open so he could rest his muzzle on the floor. Liberty found it slightly harder to turn his head so that he could talk clearly, having to press up against the wall and turn his head to the side so he could move his jaw freely.

In all of his moving and shuffling, none of which had been quiet, no one bothered to look his way. Liberty stared at all the people in the room, his attention automatically drawn to where his captain was.

Steve was standing close to Tony Stark, his body language saying that it was the last place that he wanted to be. He even flinched backward when Tony reached out to him, resting a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?"

"You know damn well why!" Steve pushed Tony's arm off of his shoulder. "Back off!"

Tony rocked back, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Steve. "Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

Liberty trilled, surprised when Fury was the one to look over at him. For a moment, he thought that Fury would actually pay attention to him, especially with the way that he was cramming himself as far into the space as he could. Instead, Fury just waved him away. Liberty snarled at the move, noticing the way that Banner flinched and took a step away from him. The move blocked Liberty's view of Loki's staff, which was resting on the desk, but that didn't matter. Nobody here would use it.

He turned his head to look at his captain, pressing as far forward as he would dare. "Steve-"

Steve made a sharp motion in his direction, obviously an order for silence. Liberty snorted, but Steve carried on like he hadn't heard him. "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away, what are you?"

Tony's shoulder's stiffened, but his voice was even as he responded. "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you."

"Steve!" Liberty meant it as a reprimand this time, not a bid for his captain's attention. Steve was taking it too far; he knew nothing about Tony. Just because Steve was his captain didn't mean that Liberty would just stand by and let him speak like this to people that Liberty considered his. Tony was Howard's son; the one who had kept him safe in the years after Howard had died. Liberty had never been hurt because of a malfunction in the tech that he carried, and he was grateful for it. Just as he was grateful for the promise of a young boy to make sure that he wasn't a soldier anymore.

Much to his annoyance, Steve continued to ignore him, focused completely on Tony. "Yeah, I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire."

Liberty keened, hoping that someone would pay attention to him. He was aware of the danger in the room, and three of his crew were in there. He trusted that Fury could take care of himself, and it had been long enough that Liberty didn't consider Fury part of his immediate crew. But Natasha and Steve were still in there, as well as Tony. They were all perfectly capable of protecting themselves, but Thor was stronger than all three of them and Banner was dangerous. Liberty wasn't too sure how well he would stand up to a god and the Hulk, but he would try. Anything to get his crew out of the room safely. And the way that Banner was edging back to the table was setting him on edge.

He growled, Banner jumping back so he was pressed against the table. Liberty saw the human reach behind him, snarling as he pressed himself further against the windows. Somewhere he heard the glass crack, but he didn't pay that any attention. His full attention was making sure that his crew was away from the multitude of threats in the room. He was already plotting out a way to take out Thor, Banner and, if need be, Fury to remove his crew. All he had to do was to get into the room.

The sound of Steve's voice had him swinging his head back toward his captain.

Steve had his arms crossed over his chest and a faintly amused look on his face. "Always a way out…You know, you may not be a threat, but you'd better stop pretending to be a hero."

"Steve!"

"A hero? Like you? You're a lab rat, Rogers."

"Tony!"

"Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

Liberty roared, jumping from the floor so he could better press his shoulder against the glass. His hind feet caught on the support bar, Liberty using the new hold to shatter the glass, pulling himself into the room with his forelegs. He felt the prick of glass along his back and wings, but he ignored it in favor of letting out another roar and stepping forward so he was looming above Steve.

Everyone in the room jumped backward, even Steve. With his captain securely in his shadow, Liberty swept his gaze across the room, keeping up a low growl in his confusion. Everyone was a threat, even the ones he had considered crew and it was confusing. He knew that he had to protect his captain no matter what, but Steve was going far beyond what Liberty would allow from him. He shook his head hard, the move causing more glass to fall against his body. Until he could figure out what to do, he would focus on taking out what he _knew_ were threats.

He turned to hiss at Banner, barely aware that he was letting sparks fall from his mouth. Liberty took a step closer to Banner, noting the flash of green in the other man's eyes before Banner reached back to grab the staff.

Liberty raised his head a bit in the face of the threat, spotting Natasha out of the corner of his eye. She was too close to Banner, too close to Thor. He wiggled a bit, managing to get the claws of one hind foot into the wall, allowing him to open one wing over Steve. "Natasha."

She shook her head, her hand inching toward her gun. Liberty hissed at the blatant disregard for his orders. She was in danger and he was just trying to save her. He dug his talons into the floor, the tips squeaking across the tile before they dragged furrows in it a few inches deep. "Natasha!"

He spat sparks at the shout, not caring that Thor was edging toward him. Liberty twisted around to hiss at Thor, catching sight of Tony. Tony was too close to the threat too. Liberty lifted his wing a bit, not allowing his gaze to leave Thor. "Tony."

"No." Liberty swung his head around, glaring as Tony took a step backwards. "Not when you're defending your precious captain over everyone else."

"He's my captain."

"He wasn't even here for you! You've had more years without him than with him." Tony made a vague gesture at where Steve was tucked against Liberty's side. "Why do you bother agreeing with him when he's just going to disappear on you again?"

Steve ducked out from under the protection of Liberty's wing before he could reclaim him. "Don't talk to Liberty like that."

"Make me."

Steve gestured to the door. "Put on the suit. Let's go a few rounds."

For a moment, it looked like Tony would take Steve up on the offer. But Liberty pounced before anything could be done. He caged Steve and Tony underneath his talons, having to pivot so he could keep them under his hands without crushing them. More glass shattered as he shifted his hips, Liberty wincing as some dug into his skin, but it was a brief pain. The more important thing was stopping Steve and Tony.

He lowered his head, not bothering to try and disguise what he was saying as anything but a threat. "Stop trying to make me divide my loyalties, or you'll both regret it."

Liberty looked up at the sounds of guns being drawn, staring at Fury and Natasha. He hissed at the betrayal from one of his own crew, leaning to one side to free up one wing. If he was careful, he could buffet Natasha to the side. Liberty would explain himself when he got out of the room, if he felt like it. But Natasha should have known enough to trust him in this matter, she owed him that much. He narrowed his eyes at her, about to remind her about his part in getting her into SHIELD when Banner laughed.

"You call this a team? We're a time bomb."

"Doctor Banner…"

Banner waved off Natasha's warning, Liberty following the track of his hand. The motion caught Banner's attention, Liberty watching as he rocked forward. It was a warning of an attack, although Liberty didn't know what Banner intended to do. He knew about the Hulk or what he could glean about the Hulk from the official documents. Liberty doubted that Banner could attack right off the bat, but Banner would probably be more maneuverable than he was, as he was still partially stuck in the line of windows.

He opened his mouth to spit fire at the man, surprised when Banner just laughed. "What are you going to do, sic your dragon on me?"

"No. Liberty, stand down." Liberty snarled in response, but didn't move. His attention was focused on the gun that was aimed in his direction. He was sure that Fury either meant to shoot at him or Steve if Liberty got too out of hand, and he would not allow it. Liberty eyed the room for a quick escape, trying to figure out a way to get Natasha back over to him.

Dimly, he could hear Fury giving orders, the argument moving away from Steve and Tony to Banner and Fury. Liberty snorted and paid it no attention aside from keeping his eye on Banner. Thor hadn't made a threatening move, just voicing his opinion from afar. But Liberty could feel the god's eyes on him. He eyed the god, trying to figure out how strong Thor was without testing him.

A fight with Thor in the room wouldn't end well for any of them, especially when it was confined to such a small room. Liberty could only move forward and backward, and not very quickly. Every move would drag the glass across his hide and slow him down. No glass had really gotten stuck in his scales yet, but it was only a matter of time before he was injured by his position.

Any fight with Thor would also be brought to a quick halt by Fury. Liberty eyed the gun that the director was holding. He had no doubt that Fury wouldn't hesitate to use the gun in his defense or that Fury would go for a kill shot if he had to. On one of their early missions together, Liberty had watched as Fury had fired on a heavyweight that had been bearing down on them with only a pistol. Going against Fury would be equally as dangerous. And lunging at Banner would need better planning. Retreat was his best option.

Liberty closed his talons more tightly around Tony and Steve, intending to pull himself out of the room. If he could get Tony and Steve somewhere safe, they he would go back for Natasha. Viatrix could watch them long enough to make sure that they didn't kill each other. Then he would head for the covert. SHIELD could handle whatever was happening without them.

Natasha moved forward, Liberty turning his head to watch her. She was moving into range where he could grab her in his mouth and then head out. He adjusted his grip on the support with his back feet, stretching out his neck. He froze when Banner stumbled back again, the man groping for something on the desk as he stared at them all.

"In case you need to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!" Banner went silent as he stared at all of them. Liberty felt Tony wiggle out of his grip. He wanted to reach for Tony again, but his full concentration was on the human that was commanding the room. "I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!"

For a moment, Liberty felt Banner's stare land on him. He gave up on trying to reach for Tony, satisfying himself with the knowledge that Tony was kept safe somewhere behind him. Banner was back to being the main threat in the room, Liberty watching his body language carefully. If the Hulk appeared, then he would have to be ready, and there was nothing but aggression and anger in Banner's body language.

He was careful to meet Banner's gaze, feeling a bit of satisfaction that the human couldn't hold his gaze. Instead, Banner turned to look at Natasha, who was no too far out of Liberty's reach. "You want to know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You want to know how I stay calm."

There were two clicks from Natasha and Fury, Liberty relaxing a fraction as the guns were moved away from him. But the safety on both guns was off, Liberty easily recognizing the sound and it looked like Banner did as well. He could see Banner's arm tense as he grabbed as something before Banner brought the scepter to bear.

Liberty hissed and shifted backward. He felt a large piece of glass catch and cut his scales, biting back a sound of pain. The humans would take it as a sign of aggression the weapons in the room would switch back to being aimed at him. He swung his hips, hoping to clear more room for himself only to catch against one of the window frames that was not budging. Liberty leaned against it, hearing the metal groan but nothing else. Unable to move any further, he lowered himself closer to the ground, acting as a shield for both Steve and Tony.

The position forced him to let go of Steve, Liberty shifting his hand to be comfortable. He shifted his other hand, inching it closer to where Natasha was standing. He was running through a quick snatch in his mind when he felt Steve scrambling over him. Liberty kept his head on the floor, just tipping it to see Steve slide down his other shoulder. He wasn't wearing his harness, so it was an uncontrolled slide, Steve nearly falling onto his face as he landed on the ground.

Steve caught himself against Liberty's shoulder, leaning back against the dragon and extending one hand in a placating gesture. "Doctor Banner, put down the scepter."

From the look that Banner gave the scepter in his hand, he hadn't known he had been holding it, which didn't make Liberty feel any better. Nor did Banner turning around to drop the scepter on the desk. "Sorry kids, you don't get to see my little party trick after all."

It was Steve's remonstrating slap on his shoulder that kept Liberty from growling. The threat was still there and Liberty couldn't just ignore it. Threats to his crew were the whole reason he had broken into the lab. Liberty froze, only lifting his head and neck out of habit when Steve gave the command. There had been a reason he had come into the lower bays in the first place, but Liberty couldn't quite remember it. He couldn't have known about the threats to his crew because he had been on deck, watching Fergal return to the covert.

Liberty rocked back, extracting himself partially from the room. He didn't give up his hold on the edge of the floor, but he was no longer completely in the way. He wouldn't retreat completely until everyone had calmed down enough that he could leave his crew alone. Fragments of glass slipped down his wings as he resettled himself, Liberty ignoring their tickle to watch as Natasha and Fury put their guns away. For a moment, it looked like everyone would just leave. Then an alarm sounded.

Years of training nearly had Liberty rocking out of the hole to wait to be harnessed up. But it wasn't the usual alarm to send the dragons out into battle; it was coming from one of the computers.

After the alarm had sounded for a few moments, Tony walked over to one of the screens set up around the room. He exhaled softly and looked over at Banner with a smile. "Got it."

"You've located the Tesseract." Liberty jumped at the sound of Thor's voice, surprised to hear the god speak after he had remained mostly silent. Liberty went to spread his wings as a warning, hissing as they got stuck against the broken glass. He turned his head around to see if he would free them, hearing the room behind him dissolve into argument again. Liberty glanced at all of them before turning to his priority. He wouldn't be able to defend his crew if he was stuck, so he would have to try and free himself first.

He toned out the shouting, only paying attention to who was speaking and the tone. The words didn't matter at the moment. They couldn't be heard clearly as he twisted in place, trying to wriggle free. He snorted when he realized that he would either have to pull himself into the room or push himself out. The latter was the most promising, because there was hardly room for him in the lab as it was, and it was only his front half in. And, any move into the room would bring out the guns and the Hulk. Liberty didn't want to fight in a confined space; it would be too easy to get hurt. But a retreat made him worry.

Standing up on his hind legs took time because he had to make sure that he was balanced. That was time enough for someone to hurt his crew. Then again, they were all close to the hole he had made, so it would be an easy thing for them to jump out. And Liberty would catch them.

With a final snort at Tony for some offhand comment, Liberty dug his talons into the floor and pushed backward. The tight fit resisted him for a moment before the glass finally broke, allowing Liberty to step out of the room. Carefully, he lowered his hind legs to the ground, almost falling onto his back when he overbalanced. He scrambled for the support bar, closing his talons around it at the last minute. The metal groaned but held, Liberty spreading his wings as wide as he could get them to keep his balance. Ponderously, he leaned forward again, Liberty glancing at the hole in the glass. He could probably risk another jump through; enough was cleared that he would wiggle in with ease.

Liberty was resettling his hind legs, about to bring his wings down in a flap to help him jump when he heard one of the humans mutter in the room above him. "Oh my God!"

He only a moment to wonder who had spoken when there was an explosion on the left side of the Helicarrier.

Liberty felt the Helicarrier list to the side, roaring as he lost his balance and tumbled to the floor. He grunted as he smacked against it, feeling the Helicarrier right itself for a moment before it started listing again. The whole structure rocked and vibrated under his feet, Liberty twisting his head back to look at the entrance to the bay. He had to get out before something caused the entryway to collapse, and he had to get out with his crew.

The rumbles from the explosion died down, Liberty cautiously getting to his feet. He blinked to clear his eyes of the smoke that was wafting down from the bays further back to the left, lifting his head above the thin layer of smoke. But that wouldn't keep him clear for long, the smoke was rising quickly, and the Helicarrier hadn't righted itself yet. Liberty craned his head for the source of the smoke, his attention going back up to the lab.

He rocked onto his hind legs, not bothering to carefully lift himself into place. He flapped his wings to give him the lift he needed, feeling the Helicarrier rock as he pushed off the ground. He dug his talons onto the edge of the floor, scrambling with his back feet at the support bar. Liberty grunted and kept flapping his wings in the short, sharp strokes that the bay would allow him. It was enough to keep him from crashing to the ground until he found the support bar. Liberty landed heavily on the bar, feeling it give a bit, but it held his weight. Liberty clawed at the floor, using that hold to pull himself further into the room.

There was a giant hole in the center of the room, Liberty unable to see much through the smoke. He snorted, trying to clear his nostrils as he looked around the room. Fury and Thor were on one side of the lab, but Liberty couldn't see Natasha and Bruce. Liberty strained to lift himself up high enough to peer into the hole, but he needed to find the rest of his crew before he went crawling down a hole, especially one he couldn't see the bottom of.

Liberty lifted his head, trying to keep his head clear of the smoke. He could see vague shapes by the door, but nothing more. He took a deep breath and blew it out, moving the smoke just enough to see two bodies on the ground. Liberty whined, trying to pull himself close to where his captain was sprawled out on the ground. "Steve!"

He froze when Steve sat up, his captain looking around before spotting him. Liberty stared at the second body, reassured when he saw Tony breathing. Still, they were his responsibility and he had to get the out before the floor gave out completely. He stopped his mad scramble to get to them when Steve waved him aside, the motion turning into a distracted attempt to pet him. It didn't soothe Liberty, but it was enough to calm him down some. Steve was alright, as was Tony because the man was getting up.

Steve reached down to pull Tony up. He gave the other man a push toward the door. "Put on the suit!"

Liberty expected Tony to argue, but he only nodded and headed down the hallway. "Yep!"

Tony disappeared into the smoky hallway, Liberty pulling himself slightly forward to watch Tony go. He didn't get far, Steve reaching around to push him back toward the hole. "Not you."

"But-"

"That was an order, Liberty." He turned his head to stare at Fury as the man levered himself from the floor. Fury made a vague motion towards the door. "Engine three is down, go help Stark." The last words were directed at Steve. Fury turned to stare at Liberty as soon as Steve was out of the room. "I need you off the Helicarrier and in the air. Keep whatever hit us from coming back and don't you dare land on this thing, it won't hold you up and stay in the air."

He turned to leave, pausing to look at Liberty. "Don't let them take out another engine. If they do, we're all going for a swim."

Liberty gave the director a nod, letting himself down onto the floor gently. If the Helicarrier was already struggling in the air, it didn't need him throwing his weight around as well. The Helicarrier bucked under him, Liberty digging his talons into the floor for stability. He rocked with the motion, only stumbling forward when he was sure the worst of it was over.

He wished that he had given the order to have his harness on earlier, because it would have been useful now. He would have been able to take up a team with him. Even if it wasn't his crew, more people in the air would help keep the Helicarrier flying. But there wasn't time, not when he could feel the Helicarrier rocking with every step that he took. Liberty scrambled to keep his balance, moving as quickly as he dared.

It took far too long for his taste to get back to the secondary runway. Liberty didn't want to risk climbing up to the main runway; he just spread his wings and jumped from the side.

His tail knocked against the opening, Liberty ignoring the quick sting of pain in favor of coasting away from the Helicarrier. He circled the craft, catching sight of smoke rising from one of the back engines. Liberty snorted to clear his nose, circling higher get a better view of the situation.

Viatrix was darting around on the deck of the Helicarrier, snapping at men who were dressed as SHIELD agents. But, from the way they were firing at her, it was obvious that they weren't allies. Liberty turned his head, trying to count them. Viatrix was too busy to report in the number, but he could easily. There were bound to be some that he missed, those that had already run into the Helicarrier, but knowing part of the number was better than being unprepared.

Liberty ducked his head, brushing his foreleg along the side of his head to activate the communicator. There was a faint crackle as the tech aligned itself with the right channel, but Liberty ignored it in favor of counting the men that were on the deck. He had tallied up ten when his attention was distracted by movement down by one of the air ducts. Liberty dropped lower to see what was going on, recognizing one of the men just before he slipped into the Helicarrier. "Clint!"

He swooped low, his talons just barely grazing over the top of the Helicarrier. He had his orders not to land, but Clint was in the Helicarrier. Liberty hissed and pulled up, flapping quickly for height. "Ten up here and more already inside."

There was a faint confirmation before the channel was filled with chatter. Liberty winced and pawed at the side of his face until it switched over to his own private channel. Most of what he would be getting on the other one would be just shouted orders and confusion. Liberty already had his job. He turned away from the air duct, banking to make a quick flight over the deck, spitting fire at the agents on the deck. He heard Viatrix shout her thanks, flapping to gain height and look at the situation again.

He got a glimpse of red and gold by the ruined engine, Liberty coasting down to see what was going on. Tony must have seen him, because he raised one hand to wave before tapping on the side of his helmet. Liberty tipped his head in confusion, realizing what Tony meant when his voice came on over the line. "Patching you in with us."

"Us?" He turned his head, catching a glimpse of Steve as he peeked out from the wreckage around the engine. Liberty dropped closer at the sight of his captain, almost asking what he could do to help when something collided with him.

Liberty felt the breath knocked out of them, hanging in the air for a moment before recovering. He twisted away from the thing that had butted up against him, lashing out with his talons. He was rewarded with a bellow of pain, Liberty pushing away and staring down at the thing that had attacked him.

Zephyrinus bared his teeth at Liberty before turning and going after Steve and Tony. Liberty stared at the Yellow Reaper for a moment, slightly baffled by the other dragon's behavior. He had never done anything to make Zephyrinus angry at him. They had met rarely in the covert, both of them out on missions. The Yellow Reaper had been part of the west coast contingent of SHIELD, and both of them had been busy on their missions. If that was the power of the scepter that Loki had, to make the dragon do this, then Liberty hated it. It disrupted the careful order that the dragons held among themselves.

"Liberty, we need cover down here!" The sound of Steve's voice snapped him out of his shock.

Zephyrinus was diving for where Tony was hovering in front of the engine, his intent clear. The agents would be trying to take the Helicarrier and the dragon was there to make sure that the engine wasn't repaired. Liberty was sure that there was a greater plan, but he would worry about it later when his crew wasn't under attack.

He snarled and dived for the Yellow Reaper just as it stooped for Tony. Liberty slammed into the dragon, the two of them careening into the wrecked space by the engine. Zephyrinus roared as metal cut at them, Liberty keeping his own whimpers as quiet as possible. Steve had to focus on helping Tony, not on him. All he was getting were scratches anyway.

He pushed away from Zephyrinus, watching at the Helicarrier rocked toward the right again. Liberty winced at the motion, knowing that it wouldn't take much to skew the Helicarrier completely to the other side. He circled back around, trying to lure the Yellow Reaper away from the Helicarrier. They couldn't keep knocking against it, even if it would help him keep the other dragon down. Liberty was shorter by twenty feet, he could use every advantage that he had.

Liberty twisted out of reach, watching as Zephyrinus climbed after him. He gave the Yellow Reaper a look over his shoulder, waiting until they were well above the Helicarrier to turn. He scanned the sky quickly, making sure that the other dragon wasn't coming as well. Liberty didn't need Aseneth flying in. He could handle the middleweight alone, but having a heavyweight coming in would mean outright failure. Thankfully, the sky was clear, meaning that he only had to deal with Zephyrinus. Figuring out where Aseneth was could wait until later.

He flung his wings out as Zephyrinus came charging up from below, bringing his talons to bear. Zephyrinus didn't slow in time, Liberty tearing at him with his talons. He tried to keep from aiming for any parts that would have caused a fatal wound. Zephyrinus wasn't in full control of himself and there was no reason to kill a good agent for what Loki had done. If he made that argument, it could easily lose him Clint. But the Yellow Reaper wasn't going to get out of the fight without a few injuries, no dragon ever got out of a fight unscathed.

His talons caught and scraped against the horns on the sides of the Yellow Reaper's neck. Liberty hissed, beating his wings up before dropping onto Zephyrinus' back. The Yellow Reaper screeched and dove before Liberty could touch him. Liberty chuckled, spiraling up to try the move again. It wasn't much of a tactic, but as long as Liberty had the higher position, he would be able to herd Zephyrinus anywhere. There was a chance that he could chase the dragon to some kind of ground and pin him there. Anything to keep Zephyrinus away from the Helicarrier. Liberty had worked with enough Yellow Reapers during World War II to know that all of that breed would shy away from something dropping on them from above.

Liberty stooped again, Zephyrinus letting out a wail and dodging to the right. Liberty turned, intending to herd the other dragon away. As he hoped, Zephyrinus backed off, but the dragon didn't retreat without lashing out.

He pulled his head back, shaking his head to get blood from out of his eye. Zephyrinus had only scratched above his eye, but now Liberty had to fly with his head twisted to the right so he would be able to see. The scratch would stop bleeding soon enough, but Liberty needed to keep going. He would ignore it, just like he was ignoring the pieces of glass that were still embedded in his hide.

Liberty eyed Zephyrinus before dropping towards him again. As expected, Zephyrinus dropped and tried to defend himself, but Liberty beat him to the punch. He spat fire at the Yellow Reaper, pushing it back further. Zephyrinus shook himself, trying to get the fire off of him. Liberty backed off again, eyeing the other dragon. He expected Zephyrinus to retreat some more and take stock of the burns, not for the Yellow Reaper to charge him. Liberty snarled and turned to dodge out of the way.

His wing knocked against Zephyrinus on the downbeat, Liberty surprised to see Zephyrinus waver. The Yellow Reaper curled in on himself and plummeted toward the ground. He was about to dive himself, when Zephyrinus opened his wings and began to circle underneath the Helicarier, shaking his head. Liberty cocked his head at the strange behavior, about to follow Zephyrinus when he heard a roar. For a moment, he thought it was another dragon.

Liberty dove, heading for where he had heard the roar only to quickly pull back as he spotted the Hulk falling from the Helicarrier. He stared at the creature, not sure what to do. He didn't know how much the Hulk weighed, or if the Hulk would even allow himself to be caught. Liberty didn't want to risk broken limbs or wings going after something that would struggle all the way back up. His only other choice was the pilot that had ejected out of the plane. Liberty whined and went after the human, snatching him and heading back to the Helicarrier.

The human struggled in his hands, Liberty not bothering to calm the man down. His attention was still on the falling Hulk. It wasn't like he could send Viatrix to help him either; she was still chasing the few agents that had remained on deck. Liberty bowed his head and flew faster, dropping low to skim over the deck of the Helicarrier. Liberty slowed as much as he dared, dropping the man out of his talons towards the middle of the runway, picking up speed again.

He turned his head to check on the man, watching as he struggled out of the seat. Liberty thought he saw the man pull out a gun, about to turn back and defend Viatrix when the man shot at one of the rogue agents. Satisfied, Liberty flew over the edge of the Helicarrier, tucking his wings close and diving. He wouldn't be able to catch the Hulk, but maybe he could slow the Hulk's fall or get help if the creature needed it.

The sound of one of the engines winding down made him turn over, Liberty on his back for a short moment before he had to flip back over. It was long enough to see the Helicarrier wobbling in the air. Liberty quickly gained altitude, flying level with the Helicarrier. For a moment, it stayed level, enough that Liberty believed that Tony and Steve had managed to fix the other engine. But they would have told him if they were done, or Steve would have. Then the Helicarrier started to tilt down. Liberty screeched out a warning, although he didn't know who it was for.

He shook his head, turning away from the Helicarrier to try and search for a way to keep it up. Maybe if he switched channels and called for some heavyweights; they might be enough to keep it aloft for a few minutes more. But they wouldn't get to the Helicarrier in time, it would be in the water before that.

Liberty wasn't aware that he was making high pitched noises of distress until he heard Tony's voice come over the line. "Hey, keep it down. I still need my ears."

"Tony, the Helicarrier-"

"I know, we're working on it." Liberty heard Tony grunt, probably from moving something within the turbine. Tony chuckled. "Hey, Rogers, talk to your dragon and get him to calm down."

"Liberty?" Steve's voice was raised, Liberty frowning and flipping over to start flying back to the back of the Helicarrier. "Where are you?"

"Heading your way."

"Put on some speed. We've got hostiles and-" Liberty caught the edge of a roar, the sound close enough to be picked up by the communicator. "Shit!"

"Steve?" There was just a crackle, no answer. Liberty dove, flying underneath the Helicarrier with his gaze fixed on the sky below him. "Steve!"

"I'm fine." Liberty sighed in relief, picking up on how strained Steve's voice sounded. "Just get over here."

He nodded, knowing that Steve wouldn't be able to see him. He looked up just in time to see Zephyrinus speeding toward him. Liberty cursed and rolled to the side, avoiding the Yellow Reaper's claws. One still caught him, scoring a line down his side. Liberty hissed and kicked out, scoring a hit on Zephyrinus' hindquarters. The other dragon careened out of the way, thrown off by the sudden push. Liberty glanced over his shoulder before flying up to where he had left Steve and Tony.

Liberty heard the sound of the gunshots before he got to the third engine. He drew even with the hole blown in the side of the Helicarrier, hissing at the men that were there. He meant to charge at the men, but a flash of color out of the corner of his eyes made him pause. Liberty swung his head around, staring at where Steve dangling out of the side of the rent in the Helicarrier by a cord. "Steve!"

"I'm fine. Just keep us covered."

Liberty hesitated, wanting to reach out and help Steve, but that would just present himself as a target. With armed men in the hole and another dragon flying around, he didn't have the time. Steve could handle himself and Liberty would die before he let Steve plummet to his death.

He looked around the hole, finding places to grab a hold. He wouldn't hang onto the weakened Helicarrier for too long, just long enough to discourage the men. A large spar of metal looked likely, Liberty reaching out to grab it, only to have it come away. He flinched back, letting the metal fall out of his grip.

"Careful!"

Liberty snorted, grabbing at another piece of twisted metal. He gave it an awkward tug to make sure that it was secure before grabbing onto it with all for four feet. He pulled himself close to the Helicarrier, using his position to twist and peer down at the two men. Liberty snarled and spat fire, watching as the men scurried back. He pushed away from the Helicarrier, turning in the tight space to make another pass at the men. This time, he spat sparks, hoping that something would catch on fire. Even if it didn't, the men would be too busy keeping back whenever they saw him pass. And he intended to stay close.

He made another awkward turn, having to drop below the Helicarrier to have room to maneuver. Liberty grunted, angling up again just in time to see something yellow fly below him. He hissed, looking down to see Zephyrinus' tail flash by underneath him. Liberty dropped lower, ready for the Yellow Reaper to drop on him from above only to have claws dig into his hindquarters.

He roared in pain and jerked in the side. Zephyrinus held on, Liberty feeling claws against his tail. He tried to wiggle up to use the spines that lined his back to bear. They wouldn't cut too deep into Zephyrinus' skin, but they would make holding on uncomfortable. But he couldn't press them up against Zephyrinus' belly, the Yellow Reaper was able to keep far enough above him that Liberty couldn't reach him. Liberty hissed and rolled, feeling his wings hit Zephyrinus' legs on the down stroke.

The Yellow Reaper failed to follow him, but Zephyrinus kept his grip, his claws sliding over Liberty's haunches. Liberty snarled at the pain, but he was glad of the slide. Zephyrinus was now in a postion where Liberty could reach him with his talons and teeth. He reared his head back, watching Zephyrinus struggle for balance before striking.

His jaws closed around the base of the Yellow Reaper's skull, Liberty having to shut one of his eyes to keep the horns from poking it. As it was, he could feel them poking the side of his face. Liberty growled, but resisted the urge to shake. He couldn't kill Zephyrinus, not when the other dragon was being controlled. He just had to injure Zephyrinus enough to encourage the dragon that the fight wasn't worth his time. Liberty wasn't sure that the idea would work, but it was the best that he could come up with when he was already distracted.

Liberty pulled away as Zephyrinus rolled to the side. He backed away from the Yellow Reaper, restricted by his place under the Helicarrier. Liberty glanced around, trying to come up with a plan. Fighting under the Helicarrier would put him at a disadvantage. He needed the open sky to have room to turn and dive without worrying about if he was going to knock against the floundering craft.

While Zephyrinus was still distracted, he flew for the side of the Helicarrier. He heard the Yellow Reaper follow after him, listening to the steady wing beats of the other dragon. Liberty turned his head to check where Zephyrinus was, pulling himself up abruptly when he heard a hiss. For a moment, he thought that Aseneth had actually arrived. He went to turn around and fly away when he saw something drop out of the Helicarrier. Liberty had the time to see that it was a cylindrical container and that there was someone inside of it before he was slammed into.

He tumbled down, Liberty taking a moment to right himself. He spread his wings and coasted just long enough to get out of the shelter of the Helicarrier before climbing. He was on the other side of the Helicarrier from Steve, which meant that he had to fly fast. Liberty banked, trying to turn around the end of the Helicarrier, only for Zephyrinus to come darting out from underneath. Liberty had just enough time to stretch out his legs and fling himself forward before they collided.

Liberty missed his initial mark, feeling Zephyinus' claws scrape against the inner sides of his forelegs before the two dragons jarred against each other. Liberty felt his claws scrape against the Yellow Reaper's scales before catching, the bellow that Zephyrinus gave a good clue to how deeply he had latched onto the other dragon. Liberty swung his back legs out, scrambling at the air for a moment before latching his back talons into Zephyrinus' stomach as well. His position gave him a good hold on the other dragon, but it just left him without any way to defend himself, save for his teeth and wings. Of course, snapping at each other would get them nowhere. Liberty tilted his head to study the situation before coming to a decision.

He reared his neck back, tilting them slightly before beginning to beat his wings faster. Zephyrinus was caught in a reach for his neck; the Yellow Reaper's head was knocked by his wings. Zephyrinus let him go with a screech, trying to put distance between them. Liberty followed, not letting the Yellow Reaper get away. They were too close to Steve and Tony, but Liberty could hear the promising whine of the turbine starting up, which meant that Tony had gotten the job done.

Liberty flew forward, turning so he could knock Zephyrinus with his wing. He heard the dull thud of the connection, watching as Zephyrinus dropped. The Yellow Reaper shook his head, staring up at Liberty. By the way that Zephyrinus was snaking his head back and forth, Liberty could tell that the other dragon was still stunned from the blow. But even that didn't seem to be enough to stop the Yellow Reaper.

Zephyrinus tried to climb back up to meet him, Liberty ready with another sharp buffet of his wing. The second blow was enough to make the Yellow Reaper plummet, Liberty worried that he had managed to knock the other dragon unconscious.

He was preparing to dive when Zephyrinus recovered. The Yellow Reaper gave a soft cry and scrambled for the Helicarrier. Liberty was too slow to stop Zephyrinus from pulling himself onto the deck, the craft wobbling dangerously in the air. Liberty shot a nervous glance over his shoulder, watching the turbine by engine three turn. He wasn't sure if it was fixed yet and he didn't want to chance his weight on the Helicarrier in case the whole thing lost altitude. He settled for close circling over the deck, Liberty watching Zepyhrinus closely.

On his part, Zephyrinus didn't seem too interested in doing anything but lying on the deck and whimpering. Liberty snorted and extended his neck, his muzzle almost brushing over Zephyrinus' back as he examined the other dragon. That Zephyrinus didn't strike out was interesting, because everything that Liberty had seen of the other dragon would have convinced him that the dragon would have attacked. Liberty tipped his head to the side, watching as Zephyrinus' eyes opened on the next pass.

Liberty hissed and backwinged, confronted with the eerie light blue eyes of the Yellow Reaper. He managed to get out of reach, Zephyrinus hissing at him before scurrying along the deck.

Men began to run out of the interior of the Helicarrier, Viatrix scrambling from the other end to catch them. The agents didn't seem to be too impressed with her, already climbing up onto Zephyrinus' back and clipping in. Some of them even knelt and aimed their guns at her. Liberty roared, hoping the sound of another dragon so close would stop them from firing, but the men didn't flinch.

Viatrix screeched as the first of the bullets hit, flinging herself to the side and off the deck. Liberty swung wide on a turn to make sure that she was fine before turning his attention to the deck again. He snarled when he saw that Loki was just walking out of the Helicarrier. Liberty didn't know where the others were, he had tuned out most of the orders that were coming through his comm. unit, save those from Steve. Something must have gone wrong with the defense inside; there was no other explanation that Liberty could think of.

Liberty flew close to the runway, intending to rake his claws over Zepyhrinus' back in the hopes he could dislodge the agents, but the men with the guns were quicker. They turned and readjusted their aim to fire at him. Liberty grunted at the sharp bite of bullets, but they weren't the caliber that was usually turned against dragons, so they were just little annoyances. The only real danger was the scepter that Loki aimed in his direction. Liberty dodged to the side, surprised when Loki didn't fire at him. Instead, the god just tracked his progress, the threat of the scepter enough to keep him away.

The smile on Loki's face was proof enough that the god knew he could keep the dragon away by simple means. Liberty just glared at the god, risking a quick dart in to breathe fire at the agents.

A few screamed and fell to the ground, trying to pat the flames off. Most of them just ducked, hiding under Zephyrinus. Liberty nodded to himself, ready to come around for another strike when Loki hopped onto the dragon's back without a harness. Apparently, that was the signal, because Zephyrinus took off, flying quickly away from the Helicarrier. A good number of the men who had come with them on the initial attack were left behind, Liberty staring at them from above before speaking. "Liberty reporting in. Loki and Zepyhrinus have left, but there are captured soldiers on the deck."

He paused, watching as Viatrix clawed her way onto the deck. The Grey Widowmaker looked a bit worse for the wear, but Liberty couldn't see any dangerous looking wounds. The casual nod that she gave him also assured him that she would hold. Liberty inclined his head toward men on the deck, Viatrix scurrying over and flaring her wings over them. The men cowered, a few of them raising their guns in an attempt to scare her away. The Grey Widowmaker just slapped the guns away, the motion enough to convince Liberty that she was still up to the job.

He turned away from her, heading back to where he had left Steve and Tony. "Viatrix has secured the agents. Get someone to collect them." He looked back under his belly, eyeing her bleeding wounds. "And send the surgeon. We'll both need to have bullets picked out."

There was some vague confirmation, enough that Liberty felt justified in dropping low enough to draw even with the hole in the side of the Helicarrier. He couldn't see either Tony or Steve. Liberty whined, finding a hold with one hand to keep him level with the Helicarrier and to guide him further into the hole. It was a tight fight closer to the ship, but it afforded him a view of Steve and Tony.

Steve was looking at him, probably alerted to his presence by the sound of his wings. Liberty stretched out his neck, falling just too short to actually touch Steve. His captain helped him by holding out an arm. It wasn't much, but it was a reassurance that Steve was still alive. He sighed and adjusted his grip on his hold. "Everything fixed?"

He heard Tony snort through the comm. "If it wasn't, we wouldn't still be flying."

Liberty glared at him, watching Tony carefully as he got up. He could hear the suit grinding oddly and it looked more battered than before. Liberty wanted to reach back for Tony, but that would mean letting go of his hold and squeezing himself further back into the small space. He wasn't sure he would be able to get out without scratching himself up. The surgeon would already be fussing over him for letting himself get shot at. Then again, everyone seemed to fuss at him, forgetting that he had close to seventy years of combat experience.

He loosened his hold on his grip, feeling himself drift enough to brush his wing against the metal on the side of the hole. Liberty thought he saw Steve flinch, but he ignored it to peer around. There were two unconscious agents on the floor, Liberty snorting at them before looking up. "There's a couple more on the runway, Viatrix is guarding them."

"The Grey Widowmaker?"

Liberty nodded. "They were the only ones I could keep from running. The rest got away with the Yellow Reaper, as did Loki."

For a moment, Steve looked like he was about to say something when something came over the comm. Liberty lifted his head, nearly letting go of his hold when he heard Fury speaking over the line. "Agent Coulson is down."

He saw Tony and Steve exchange a glance, but his attention was already drawn back to the conversation. He had no idea where Coulson had joined in the fight, he had just assumed that Coulson would stay on the bridge and act as support. There hadn't been that many infiltrators that Liberty remembered, but his count could have been off. Then there was the further complication in that they had been dressed like the other agents, which had probably caused pure chaos on top of the foundering Helicarrier.

Liberty let go of his grip, dropping away from the hole. He felt something scrape against his back, but he paid it no attention. He had to circle around to the lower bay and get inside the Helicarrier. There were bound to be people there that he could talk to, if he could put off the surgeon long enough. Coulson was part of his crew and infinitely more fragile than a dragon, Liberty had to look after him first.

"Someone, tell me where Coulson is."

No one seemed to hear him, Liberty snarling as the chatter continued. There were too many voices, speaking at once, most of them being silenced quickly as the situation was put back under control. Finally, one voice came over the radio. "Paramedics are on their way."

Liberty nodded, checking his speed as he came in for a landing. Now that the channel was mostly clear, he could make his call and someone would answer. He landed in a crouch, waiting a second to see if the Helicarrier wobbled while he repeated his demand. "This is Sentinel of Liberty. Tell me where-"

"They're here." Liberty skidded to a stop, staring at the interior of the Helicarrier. "They called it."

For a moment, he didn't fully register what he had been told. The communicator made it hard to distinguish the tone of voice sometimes; Liberty could only hope that this was one of those times. But that didn't matter in the face of the words, because he knew what those words meant. He had served too long to forget them. He was an old hand at loss in battle, but this was different. Coulson had been part of his crew, the only part that had remained with him since Peggy had retired. Liberty had failed to protect him while he had been close but distracted. Zephyrinus could have waited for a moment. Liberty should have checked in with all of his crew instead of just focusing on one thing at a time. He had failed.

Liberty sat down heavily, staring at the asphalt under his talons before throwing his head back and keening.

* * *

Steve walked slowly through the lower bay, barely paying attention to the people that rushed around to secure what had come loose when the Helicarrier had plummeted. They would have plenty of time to make sure that everything was safely tucked away again; the Helicarrier wouldn't be going anywhere soon. They were dead in the air and they had no idea where Loki was. Thor was missing, as was the Hulk, and Coulson was dead.

He rubbed a hand over his face, feeling exhausted. Of all the times they had fought Loki, none of it had been on their terms, he had thought far ahead of them. They had allowed themselves to be distracted and misdirected. It was an embarrassing failure for people with their skills and the weight of Coulson's death rested heavily on his shoulders.

He hadn't known the man well. Coulson had just kept in touch with him and Liberty over the few days that he had been awake before this fiasco had started. But Steve could admire the man from what Liberty told him.

Steve looked up from picking his way across the floor at the sound of someone running. He frowned, recognizing the surgeon for the dragons and that he was carrying a metal container with something rattling around inside of it. The surgeon had bloodstained towels draped over his arm, Steve's stomach twisting at the sight.

At the last count, the Helicarrier had two fit dragons. He assumed that the one injured dragon had already been taken back to the covert, leaving Liberty and Viatrix to guard them. Steve hadn't even bothered to look over Liberty when his dragon had been done fighting; he had been too busy checking over Stark to look at his dragon. Then the death of Coulson had been announced, and Steve had been called onto the bridge for his official scolding by Fury, the one that hadn't been able to be passed on to the rest of the intended team. Thor and Hulk were nowhere to be found, Natasha was taking care of Clint and, because Steve had been too busy with other things, he wasn't sure how Liberty was.

He turned to face the surgeon, surprised when the man gestured off to his left. "Your dragon is on the other side, closer to where the med bays are. He wouldn't settle until he could see Clint."

Steve winced at the gentle reprimand. He should have been paying some attention to Liberty. He had forgotten that Liberty had lost Clint before they had taken the mission as well. It had been part of the reason that Liberty had been so eager to accept.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "How is he?"

The surgeon held up the container, shaking it to rattle the bullets around. "Good for what he took. Then again, he made it worse for himself. He wouldn't stop squirming." The man tucked the container back under his arm. "Even with the bullets and the glass, he's cleared for flying."

Steve nodded in thanks, turning on his heel and walking back in the opposite direction. He had passed the hallway that had led to the med bay on his way forward, but he had assumed that Liberty would return to the same bay he had been in all day. It had been a dumb assumption, considering all the glass that must have fallen into the bay while Liberty was breaking through the windows to the lab and pulling himself out again.

He trudged back down the passage, spotting Liberty's tail long before he saw the entire dragon.

Liberty was crammed into as small a space as he could manage, one wing flung awkwardly over the windows into the med bay. From the position of his neck, Liberty's head was tucked under the same wing, keeping him separate from the world and allowing him to mourn. It also allowed him to look in on where Steve assumed Clint was. He didn't see Liberty leaving his curl soon.

Steve cleared his throat, hoping that the sound was enough of a warning for Liberty. The dragon didn't move as he approached, not even showing that he knew Steve was there. He sighed and sat down by one of Liberty's forelegs, watching the rest of the crew scrambling around in the lower bays.

The last of the planes were pushed into place before Liberty lowered his wing, Steve not sure if it was because Liberty finally acknowledged Steve's presence or because his wing hurt from holding it in an awkward position. He leaned forward as Liberty shifted, watching as Liberty rested his head closer to him. Steve reached back to pat Liberty's muzzle, glad when the dragon leaned into the touch. It was the only comfort he could offer Liberty.

"Did you see him?"

Steve paused, staring at Liberty as he ran the question over in his mind. Finally, he shook his head. "No. They had removed the body by the time that I got there. Fury delayed me."

Liberty huffed and looked away. Steve noted the expression and decided to talk to Fury. It would help Liberty immensely to see the body to help him come to terms with the fact. It had always helped settle the dragon before.

He continued his gentle stroking; sure that Liberty had been lulled into sleep. The dragon surprised him again, speaking softly. "What did Fury want to talk to you about?"

"The Avengers Initiative." The way that Liberty huffed meant that the dragon hadn't been informed, which was strange. Of all the dragons that were on the payroll Steve thought Liberty was one of the more qualified ones. Liberty might not have been the oldest, but he was one of the dragons who had been in combat for the longest time. A nudge from Liberty got him talking again. "Fury had an idea to bring together people like me to become something like SHIELD or like the Howling Commandos, but a specialized force. We were going to protect the world."

Liberty was silent for a moment, but then the edge of his muzzle nudged up under Steve's hand. "Who were they thinking about?"

"I don't know." The admission hurt a little, Steve looking down at his hands. "According to Fury, the idea never really came to anything. Fury called the idea old fashioned."

Liberty tilted his head to the side. "Phil would have liked it. He liked heroes."

Steve nodded. He didn't want to tell Liberty that Fury had said as much, he was sure that it wouldn't help. It wouldn't have helped him either, because that implied that Phil had seen him as a hero too. Steve didn't feel like he was living up to the title currently. He sighed and leaned against Liberty, wanting to change the subject. "How's Clint?"

"Talking with Natasha." Liberty sighed. "He hasn't come out to talk to me, but he did look over once. Natasha won't let me in either, I tried earlier. She said he wasn't ready."

"Give him time."

"I know." Liberty huffed and resettled himself so he was curled protectively around Steve. "But I need to know. My crew was already so small and it's gotten smaller…"

Steve heard Liberty make a high pitched sound before the dragon swallowed, cutting the sound off. Liberty turned his head so it was pressed against Steve's back, hiding himself away again. He had never seen his dragon like this, all he remembered from the war was Liberty spending the day mourning before dragging himself back to work. Then again, they had never really lost anyone but Bucky while he had been with the Howling Commandos. And seventy years was a long time.

He swallowed and leaned back against Liberty. "How many?"

"Since you?" Liberty paused for a moment, Steve hearing the clack of the dragon's claws against the floor as Liberty calculated. He worried when they stopped quickly, Liberty sighing. "Some of the Commandos, but most retired. That's better, when they go like that. Then I know that they were happy and there's been time to…_I_ had time to come to terms with the idea. A few recruits who I didn't know. That Athanaraic we captured. But there haven't been a lot. I guess I was lucky. Then these past two days…"

"Liberty-"

"I didn't want to trade Clint or Coulson for you." Steve froze at the whisper, looking over his shoulder at Liberty. The dragon shook his head, the motion jarring Steve. "I wanted you back, but I didn't want to trade anyone for you."

"You know that's not how it works."

"It feels like it." Liberty moved just enough that he could look Steve in the eyes. "Clint and Coulson for you. Second Lieutenant Brickell for Tony."

"Tony?"

Liberty shifted behind him, Steve feeling the dragon's front end lift slightly in Liberty's version of a shrug. "It was at Budapest. A piece of masonry fell on her. She's fine, but it was less than a year before Tony was taken hostage. I thought I would lose him to."

He tried his best not to stare at Liberty, trying to reconcile the idea of Tony and Liberty being on speaking terms. He had assumed as much when Stark had first appeared in Stuttgart, Liberty had perked right up when the suit of armor had come flying in. But it was hard to image Liberty actually talking to Stark, especially considering how stubborn and egotistical the man was.

Some of Steve's skepticism must have shown on his face because Liberty lifted his head until he was nose to nose with Steve. "He was there for me, alright? I was the test subject for all of the Stark Tech that got put on dragons. He made sure that I stayed safe."

For a moment, Steve considered asking if Liberty would have taken Tony as his captain if he had never been found. But he couldn't get the question out, not when Liberty was making himself perfectly clear. Liberty considered Tony part of his crew, the dragon wouldn't have worried so much about Tony if it was otherwise. It would have been a horrible situation to put the dragon in anyway, forcing him to choose between himself and Stark, especially after one of his crew had died.

He sighed and gently pushed Liberty's nose away, the motion a kind of surrender. For Liberty's sake, he would try to get along with Tony, at least when the dragon was present. Although, he had the sneaking suspicion that he had at least a grudging respect for Stark after the way he had performed with the turbine. It wasn't quite trust, but Steve could work with it. Steve reached under Liberty's jaw to scratch at the soft skin underneath, the only way he could apologize at the moment. "I'll try."

Liberty gave a sharp nod before moving his head to give Steve access to a better spot on the bottom of his jaw. Steve smiled, rolling his eyes at the dragon's behavior. Liberty wasn't back to normal, but he was faking it for Steve's sake, something that Steve wished he would stop doing. There was no need to worry about the mission as they were at a standstill, it was time for them to regroup, which meant that Liberty had time to mourn if he would take it.

Steve shook his head and leaned back against Liberty's shoulder, resigning himself to scratching the dragon's jaw until he was content, or until his arm ached. He settled into a comfortable position, shifting slightly so he could keep an eye on the two people in the med bay. "Tell me about him."

"Coulson?" Liberty lifted his head away from Steve's scratching fingers for a moment, staring off towards the end of the hangar. He sighed, the sound rumbling along his body as he lowered his jaw back onto Steve's hand. "That's a lot to talk about."

"Start simple." At the soft rumble of confusion, Steve pressed his shoulder into the side of Liberty's face. "Was he married?"

"No." Liberty jerked away from him, staring out of the bay. Steve had to lean to his left to see who was standing out there, not surprised to see Stark standing in the hallway with his arms crossed across the chest. Steve saw Tony's gaze dart over to him for a moment before he returned to addressing Liberty. "There was a uh…cellist, I think."

Liberty nodded. "She went back to Portland, but I didn't hear that from him, I had to get it from Clint. But he served on me since Fury became my first lieutenant"

Liberty's voice had almost dropped to a whisper again, and his gaze had tracked back to where Clint was. Steve reached under Liberty's head, not quite able to press his fingers against the other side of Liberty's face, but it was enough for him to exert pressure and turn Liberty's head. It took a moment more for Liberty to look up and meet his gaze. Steve held it for a while before offering Liberty a smile. "I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He was an idiot."

Steve placed a hand on Liberty's shoulder, hearing the growl that was rumbling from behind him. It wasn't quite enough to calm the dragon, but it was enough to remind him to keep his mouth shut. Steve patted Liberty's shoulder, using the motion to keep the dragon calm. He was sure that Liberty wouldn't attack Stark, especially since Liberty had claimed him as his own. Then again, Liberty had seemed ready to take on Thor and Banner because of perceived insults to his crew and, earlier on, he had been willing to snarl and snap at Tony. Steve was sure that Liberty had only acted out because of Loki's influence, but he didn't feel like finding out how far the dragon could be pushed before he lost his patience. Liberty was clearly not in the mood for Tony Stark.

With a last pat, Steve stood up and walked to where Liberty's claws clicked against the floor. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at Stark. "Why? For believing?"

Tony snorted, looking away from the med bay. Steve saw his eyes rake over Liberty, noting that Tony seemed to be lingering on the gauze patches where the surgeon had taken glass and bullets out of Liberty. His eyes quickly snapped back to Steve when he realized that he had been caught staring. Then, the arrogant tone that Steve had gotten used to from Tony took back over. "For taking on Loki alone."

Steve tilted his head slightly, the closest to a nod he was going to give Tony on the subject. He had gone up against Loki alone and it hadn't turned out well. Steve was grateful Liberty had been there to divert Loki's attention, he couldn't imagine what would have happened if the dragon hadn't been there. He didn't particularly relish the idea of getting killed so soon after he had woken up, or turned into what Clint had been. Then again, they had all been busy and Coulson had probably the only one free or close enough to go to Loki. In the end, Coulson had made the choice that he would have, and Steve couldn't fault him for that.

He shrugged, leaning against Liberty's head as the dragon set it down on his forelegs. "He was doing his job."

"He was out of his league." Tony waved one hand, like he could push away the idea. "He should have waited. He should have…"

Liberty wiggled forward and pressed the end of his muzzle against Tony's stomach. Tony leaned back under the touch, Liberty relenting and pulling back a moment later. The dragon raised his head just enough to be on eye level with Tony. "Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony."

"Right." Steve thought he heard the start of a chuckle before Tony cut it off. Tony shook his head and gestured vaguely in the direction of the detainment cell. "How did that work for him?"

Steve carefully watched Tony's jumpiness, the way he kept deflecting to Coulson. It reminded him of some of the new recruits that he had seen, blaming everything and everyone for the death of a friend. And then it clicked.

Tony's suit kept him safe, but that didn't matter because Tony was only ever going to risk himself. If he wanted to send friends out in battle, he would probably send them with suits of their own, access to some kind of tech to keep them safe or competent enough that Tony didn't have to worry. And it would be on his terms. Tony had been a millionaire and in charge of his own company for too long, he probably almost expected that he would be the one sending his friends into battle. Coulson had probably been someone close, and probably competent enough by Tony's standards, but that hadn't saved him. And Tony was blaming himself.

Steve shook his head. "Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

"We are not soliders!" He was surprised by the panicked outburst, Steve taking a step back. He didn't fail to notice how Tony glanced over at Liberty before drawing back into himself. Tony glanced away from them, choosing to glare at the med bay. "I am not marching for Fury's fife!"

"Neither am I." Steve could tell by the way that Tony looked back, he was surprised. Steve gave Tony a grim look. He was far more than just a soldier; he wouldn't blindly take orders, especially after what Fury had hidden from them

Steve could feel Liberty nudging at his shoulders, the dragon probably wanting an explanation. He resisted the urge to reach back and calm Liberty. This was his choice and he would not drag Liberty along just because he was the dragon's captain. Liberty would have the choice to come with them, because Steve had the sneaking suspicion that joining them would mean that the dragon wouldn't work for SHIELD again. Steve didn't know what Liberty would be able to do outside of SHIELD, but there was always the Air Force, and he was willing to follow Liberty there. If not, then they would work it out.

He reached back to push Liberty away, taking a step closer to Tony. "He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done." He waited for Tony to nod, that enough of an agreement for him. Steve was glad to get away from the subject of Coulson to some kind of action. Sitting around had never helped him, he needed some kind of movement, some kind of resolution to help him. And Loki presented the perfect opportunity, just like the Red Skull had. Steve could only hope that capturing Loki would end better than his fight with the Red Skull; he didn't want to spend seventy more years in ice.

He turned to face Liberty, surprised when the dragon nodded without hesitation. He had expected a bit of hesitation on Liberty's part. But, then again, Liberty wanted what revenge he could get for Coulson, just like when Bucky had died.

Steve swallowed around the lump that had formed in his throat, pushing thoughts of Bucky away. He needed to concentrate on the problem at hand, not on a problem that he couldn't fix any longer. He cleared his throat and stepped to the side, allowing Liberty into their circle instead of excluding the dragon.

Liberty knew New York better than he did now, and he would know the best way to handle Tony. Steve glanced over at Stark, taking a deep breath before beginning to lay out the basics of their mission. "Now Loki needs a power source, if we put together a list-"

"He made it personal."

He stopped abruptly to stare at Tony. Stark was looking up in the direction of the detainment cell, although his gaze dropped to the wall when he noticed that Steve was watching. Steve saw Tony's fingers twitch, marking the place on the wall that Tony was staring at. It was just about where Coulson's blood had smeared on the wall in the detainment chamber.

Steve shook his head, drawing his thoughts back to the present. "That's not the point."

"That is the point. That's Loki's point." Tony looked over at Steve, holding his gaze for a moment before rolling his eyes and looking over at Liberty. Steve tensed at the way that he was being ignored, but Liberty shot him a look as he nodded. Apparently, he wasn't considered fast enough for Tony Stark. He sighed and resigned himself to playing the part, gesturing for Tony to continue even though Tony needed no encouragement. He just continued talking to Liberty. "He hit us all right where we live. Why?"

Steve glanced over at Liberty, the dragon tipping his head towards him in a clear pass. He and Liberty had probably come to the same conclusion; the dragon was just trying to get Steve back into the conversation. Steve waited for Tony's attention to shift back to him before speaking. "To tear us apart."

Tony nodded absently, getting a look on his face that reminded Steve of Howard. It was the look Howard got when his mind was already working at full speed and miles away. Steve reverted to the method he had used in dealing with Howard, hoping that it would work on his son. Steve just kept his face neutral and let Tony rush ahead to the end of his thought process. By now, there was nothing to do but listen. As it was, Steve didn't think that Tony would even notice if he said anything from the way that he was staring at Liberty like the dragon wasn't there.

Tony continued to work through the problem out loud, Steve finding that he enjoyed it better than the way that Howard wouldn't speak until he had thought the scenario through completely. Steve enjoyed seeing the steps in the process, although he was sure that Tony didn't notice what he was doing, it sounded like an old habit.

"He knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He-"

"He wants an audience." Liberty scooted forward, raising his wings slightly in his excitement.

Steve reached up to gently tug the edge of one wing, Liberty dropping them back to his sides again. He glanced over at the gauze bandages, checking to see that they hadn't been disturbed by the sudden movement, but only half of his attention was on that. His full attention was on running over all the confrontations they had had with Loki. "Right, I caught his act at Stuttgart."

"Yeah." Tony was in full form now, gesturing as he spoke. "That's just a preview, this is opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the sky with his name plastered…"

Steve treated Tony to a look, trying to hide the smile on his face. It sounded like Tony was describing himself there for a moment with his playboy image and Stark Tower. Steve's eyes widened slightly at the thought, sure that he had come to the same conclusion as Tony because Tony stopped and started into space for a moment before muttering, "Son of a bitch!"

He started to storm away, stopped when Liberty reached out a foreleg and blocked his back. Tony pushed at Liberty's leg, stopping when the dragon lowered his head. "We need a plan of attack."

"More than just attack," Steve chimed in when Tony opened his mouth.

Tony pouted for a moment before turning to face them again. "How fast can you get out of here?"

Steve glanced over at Liberty, noting that the dragon was out of harness even as he traced the pattern of the gauze patches. He mentally calculated the time it would take to harness the dragon and gather the rest of his uniform. With Liberty's help, it would take a little more than five minutes. Steve let his gaze linger on the med bay, tilting his head to the side. With more people to help, it would take less. And there was a place in their small team for an archer and an assassin. He glanced over at Tony. "How fast do you need us to be?"

It felt good to make Tony's eyebrows rise in surprise. He glanced up at the ceiling a moment later, Steve seeing his lips move as he talked quietly to himself for a moment. The usual smile was back quickly. "I have a few repairs to make. Ten, fifteen minutes tops."

"That I can do." He waved a hand at Liberty to let Tony go, amused as the man rushed off. He waited until Tony was gone to move back into the dragon bay, raiding the line of cabinets for more tape and gauze to make sure that Liberty's wounds weren't aggravated. Steve turned back to Liberty, setting the supplies in one corner. "What do you have here?"

"My harness." Liberty looked sheepish for a moment. "Everything else got left at the covert."

"Do you know where the extras are?"

Liberty nodded, tilting his head to the side. "There should be something that would fit me."

"Find it and settle outside that first bay, we'll need a quick way out." Steve motioned for Liberty to lay on the ground, clambering onto the dragon's back to double check the bandages.

After years of working with Liberty, he knew where the harness should lie on the dragon. Of course, the Kevlar covered harness would slide around a bit in flight, but nothing too radical. The surgeon had done a good job; most of the gauze wouldn't be near where the harness was and would lie comfortably under the chainmail, or whatever was used in the twenty-first century. There were only a handful of bandages that would lie directly under the harness and Steve made sure to add another layer of tape so they wouldn't come off during the flight. Just in case, he added another layer of gauze.

Sure that it would hold, Steve slid from Liberty's back. "Check it."

Liberty gave himself a shake, Steve staring at the work he had done before nodding. Nothing had come loose, so it would hold for the attack. Steve would worry about checking the bandages again after they were finished with Loki.

He gave Liberty a pat on the leg as permission to move, the dragon standing up and moving out into the hall. Steve expected him to head right to where the extra supplies were kept, but Liberty paused and looked at the med bay. "Are we taking them? Clint and Natasha could help."

"I wouldn't make you fly without your crew."

That seemed to brighten Liberty up, the dragon flicking the end of his tail and moving off. His wing brushed against the side of the med bay, Steve about to warn Liberty to be more carefully when he realized that it had been on purpose.

Natasha opened the door and peered out, Steve noting the way that her hand hovered near her belt. He made sure to keep his hands in plain sight; he was not willing to test how good she was at the moment.

She spotted him quickly, Natasha staring at him before jerking her head in Liberty's direction as a question.

In answer, Steve shrugged. "Time to go."

"Go where."

"I'll tell you on the way." Steve walked over to the door, leaning against the frame. He could see Clint lingering in the small bathroom off of the main room. Natasha had retreated into a position to cover him, probably without noticing it. Steve just looked back over at Clint, searching the man for signs that he was still being controlled. The report had come in that he was clean, but Steve hadn't been sure about the symptoms of the control. But, if Natasha trusted Clint enough to turn her back to him, then he would trust Clint as well. "You have something to fly in?"

"Yeah."

"Grab it and find Liberty. We'll be harnessing him up."

Natasha and Clint exchanged a look before nodding. Steve was surprised that they didn't ask for more information than he had given them, but he was sure that they were smart enough to figure out what he and Liberty were about to do. Then again, he wasn't sure how thick the med bay walls were. He was sure that they weren't thick enough to block out the voice of a dragon, so they might have heard part of the conversation. Steve didn't put it past Natasha to have overheard the entire conversation.

Either way, they were probably glad for the chance to catch Loki after what he had done to Coulson. After all, Coulson had been part of Liberty's crew with them. A chance for revenge would do them good.

Steve gestured toward the front of the lower bays, where Liberty could just be seen disappearing. "We have ten to fifteen minutes before Stark takes off. Let's try and beat him."

He caught a smile from Clint before he touched Natasha's shoulder. The two of them slipped past him and followed after Liberty, leaving Steve alone in the doorway of the med bay. He gave the room one glance over, more out of habit than thinking that he would actually see anything. When his inspection was done, he turned and walked away, heading to where he had left the top part of his uniform and shield.

* * *

Liberty held his head up as high as he could with the restrictions of the lower bays. He could feel his spines catching on the ceiling every once and a while, Liberty baring his teeth in annoyance. But he needed to keep his head up so he wouldn't trip over the protective vest that he was carrying.

It was close to the one he was used to, although his had been made to custom fit over his spines and to be more effective against fire and venom. Liberty had once breathed fire onto his own back to get rid of boarders, which his vest had stood up to well. The one he was nearly dragging on the ground was Fergal's. They were about the same size, close enough to cover his vital areas. It was a little short on the neck and tail as well as not quite covering his back all the way to his spines. But he could work with it; he had dealt with worse during the later years of the Vietnam War. More importantly, it would fit snugly enough that he wouldn't have to worry about it rubbing on the gauze patches on his hide.

He flung the vest down on the ground by the first bay, glancing into the space. Most of the glass had been cleaned up, but just the large pieces. Liberty could see the shine of the lights on other smaller pieces. He hissed, planting his feet at the very edge of the bay before stretching his neck out to where his harness waited.

It was an easy enough stretch, Liberty snagging his harness and lifting it clear of the debris. Liberty gave the harness a good shake to get the glass out of it, listening to it hit the floor. When he couldn't hear any other pieces falling, he pivoted it and dropped the harness to the ground. Until Steve and the others got to the bay, he couldn't do much more than to step into the vest.

He carefully straightened it out before wiggling his forelegs into the proper holes. Liberty settled to the ground, drawing up the sides as far up as he could get them. He was attempting to pull the left side higher when he felt a hand on his tail and then a person's full weight. Liberty turned his head to see Natasha scrambling up his back, already in her suit and harness. She headed right to the front of the vest, grabbing one of the straps and buckles, pulling them together.

Another tap got his attention, Liberty staring down at Clint. He snorted at the archer before nosing him. It was as close to an apology that he would get, that Clint stood there and allowed it. He pulled away and dropped his shoulder, allowing Clint to clamber up.

Between the two of them, they managed to get the vest secured across his back. Liberty could hear them cursing as they tried to pull it together, Liberty sucking in his stomach to try and help. Fergal was skinnier than he was and all of the buckles were probably on the last hole. But the two of them managed it, Natasha staying at the back to secure the last three buckles over his tail while Clint ran back to his neck. Liberty lowered his neck parallel to the ground, allowing Clint to easily secure his end.

The two of them slid off of his back, Clint taking the time to wiggle into his own harness as Natasha helped with Liberty's harness. Liberty was helping push the harness into place, stepping into place when Natasha gave the signal.

The harness went on easier, because it was his own. Liberty nudged the straps up over his shoulder, Natasha snapping them into place before securing the strap that ran around his neck. She then rushed down to his hindquarters, closing the straps that ran over his legs and below his tail. She was just conducting a quick tug-test of her own when Steve strolled over.

Steve gave him a lazy salute, looking him over. "Will it hold?"

"Should." Liberty waited until Natasha had slid down before giving himself a hard shake. The harness rattled around but neither it nor the vest slid dangerously. Liberty lowered himself to the ground, glad that they didn't have to worry about belly netting. It would have added more time to their preparations, and he didn't want to leave Loki up to his mischief for too long. "All lies well."

The words had barely left his mouth when there was a shout from behind them. "You're not authorized to be here!"

Liberty turned with a growl, Steve holding up a hand. With his other hand, he motioned for Natasha and Clint to climb onto Liberty's back. The crewman rushed forward, probably hoping to stop them. Liberty wanted to snarl, but Steve's hand kept him from making any noise. They were going into battle, so now was no the time to argue with Steve. Any disagreements that they had would be put aside until they were done. He snorted and lowered his head, that enough to get Steve to lower his hand.

The crewman came to a stop by Liberty's shoulder, panting from his run. "No one's allowed to leave. Director Fury hasn't issued any-"

"Son…just don't."

The crewman stared at him with an open mouth, gaping like a fish for a moment before backing away.

Liberty took that to mean that they wouldn't be questioned any further, already standing as Steve climbed into place. He walked out of the lower bays, stretching out his wings as soon as he was on the runway, glad to be able to after being cooped up for a while. Liberty gave them a few flaps, not daring anything too strenuous until he heard the distinct click of Steve clipping in.

He craned his head back to look at his crew, purposefully ignoring the strange feeling that Coulson should be on his back as well. Liberty shook his head and looked forward, surprised to see something launch out of the Helicarrier. He got a glimpse of red and gold before Tony waved at them, the motion turning impatient quickly. Liberty snorted at him, feeling Steve rest a hand on his neck.

"We're all ready then." Liberty saw Steve lean over his shoulder. "Let's not keep Stark waiting."

Liberty rolled his eyes and stepped to the end of the runway, spreading his wings. "Let him try and keep up."

He was sure that he heard Steve laugh, but the sound was carried away as Liberty leapt from the runway. He allowed himself to plummet for a moment before catching himself and gliding. He heard Tony coming up from behind him, but Liberty just snorted and put on a short burst of speed. Liberty through he heard a protest from Tony over the comm, but he ignored it, flying toward New York.


	3. Chapter 3: Put on Your War Paint

**Author's Note: **Chapter title comes from _The Phoenix_ by Fall Out Boy

* * *

**Chapter Three: Put on Your War Paint**

Liberty had fallen behind Tony long before they approached the city. He could afford to waste energy on a few minutes of play, just to remind Tony that his suit wasn't all that much better than a dragon, even if Liberty had to work hard to keep ahead. Tony had a suit to back him up in the fight. Liberty would have to push through on what energy he had.

Besides, it was always better to hang back just to see what the situation was.

Liberty was glad that he had when a blue pillar of light shot up into the sky. He backwinged abruptly, staring at the light in the sky while listening to the calls of the dragons that were over New York. From what he could see, most were diving to the ground and trying to find shelter, obviously terrified. Liberty lifted his head, taking a deep breath to see if he could smell anything, only to come up with nothing new. And that scared him more than the beam of light or the small dots that he could see descending from it.

"Liberty?"

He nodded to show Steve that he had heard the question; sure that Steve would ask him about it later. Liberty wasn't sure of the answer that he would give, that he was being cautious because it was Loki and something that they had ever encountered or if it was because he and Steve were flying into battle again and all he could think about was the last time it had happened. There were no planes, no ice and no getting Steve back if he died this time. But turning back wasn't an option because they were needed and, as much as he hated to admit it, he had learned to fly without Steve.

Despite the instinct to stay low to the ground, Liberty flapped up to the clear skies above New York, looking around at the dragons that were quickly dropping all around him.

Not all dragons were immediately directed to military duty anymore. Most dragons had passed into the private sector when their captains had retired or their breeds had been deemed unsuitable to modern warfare. The rest had gotten their right to choose during the draft riots of Vietnam, when dragons and humans had refused to support the war. Liberty was willing to bet that there would be a few veterans of past wars in the city, but most of those dragons had moved out west, not liking the restrictions of the city. Very few of the dragons would be able to fight, not unless someone thought to call in the military dragons from the coverts, and that would take time as well.

Liberty flew over the buildings, snapping at the dragons that were slow to get out of his way. None of them turned to look at him, which was good, because Liberty didn't want to get distracted by a fight when there were other things on his mind. Thankfully, the skies cleared fast, leaving the streets congested with cars and dragons that were trying to get back to their families. It was going to be a nightmare to evacuate, if it came to that.

He glanced back over his shoulder, nodding at Natasha. She gave him a quick thumbs up before turning to her radio, slapping the thing on the side before pressing her comm. further into her ear. "Stark, we're heading north east."

Tony's voice came in loud and clear through Liberty's communicator. "What, did you stop for drive-thru? Swing up Park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

Liberty giving Natasha another nod. Everything was working on his end, which meant that he could drop off his team to work on the ground while he covered the sky. And, judging from the way that the _things_ were pouring out of the hole in the sky, they would need someone to intercept them.

A quick correction in his course had him flying down Park, Liberty dropping down to fly between the buildings. He fit neatly into the streets built for anything with a wingspan smaller than a Longwing's. His own wingspan of sixty feet allowed him to pass easily, even if it looked like his wings would scrape the buildings at times. As long as he stuck to the main thoroughfares, he could get close enough to the ground to be of use.

His head whipped up from the examination of the ground as he heard Iron Man blast by, Liberty barely noticing what was following after Tony before he opened his mouth and spat fire.

He was just barely in range, the first few bursts missing completely before Liberty was among them. He paused only to catch his breath before breathing another stream from above, setting about with his claws as well. It was a messy business, made more so by the fact that there was no clear shot for anyone other than Clint. Then again, they hadn't brought any other weapons with them. Usually a fire-breather was a weapon enough.

Liberty slashed the last of the aliens to the ground, hearing the soft whine of the chariot's engine coming to a stop. He snorted and looked around for the next clump. There were a few hovering right overhead, Liberty tempted to go after him, except that Natasha spoke. "Stark Tower, up ahead. See them?"

He didn't bother to give confirmation, Liberty turning and heading for the tower. He roared at the clustered aliens, even going as far to breathe fire at them to break them up. Liberty thought he heard Steve cursing over the comm, but he paid that no mind as he kept climbing, drawing even to where the two gods were fighting.

"Liberty," he perked up at Clint's voice, "line me up."

He grunted and pulled into a tight circle, the move allowing Clint to get off a shot as he flew past the tower. Liberty turned a quick circle, lining himself for the next shot as he heard the series of bangs that followed one of Clint's trick arrows. He would give Clint time to load and prep for the next shot while he breathed fire, although he would have to aim carefully not to get Thor.

Liberty eyed the fighting gods, making his own calculations quick before he puffed out his chest.

He didn't get the chance, Liberty deflating quickly as Loki whipped the staff their way. He thought he heard Steve shouting to him, but he wasn't paying attention to the people on his back, he was trying to get himself back in order so he could turn and drop to the streets. Liberty had only managed to start the turn when he saw a flash of blue light, registering it the moment before pain seared through his right wing and side.

He screamed in pain, giving up all attempts to make a turn and just dropping, his belly to the sky.

Over the comm. he could hear three voices screaming at him, Liberty trying to sort them out over the panic that he felt from falling the wrong way and the pain in his side that came every time he flapped his right wing to flip himself over. Liberty flailed in the air, knocking his shoulder against a building.

The shock was enough to startle him out of his panic, Liberty digging his claws into the brick and using the building to push off. On instinct, he snapped open his wings to slow his fall further, keening as the sudden motion made his right wing throb more. He was about to give it up and let himself plow into the ground when he registered Steve shouting at him.

"Keep that wing open and glide. Do you hear me? Just glide. There's an open space that you'll fit in. Hold until then."

Liberty didn't bother to nod, his gaze jumping to the plaza. He would barely fit in it, but that didn't matter when his right wing was jerking. Liberty tried to hold it out so he could glide against the wishes of his protesting muscles. He only managed to win the fight long enough for his claws to skim over the plaza, and then he was falling. He had enough presence of mind to try and stay on his feet, but his right wing connected with the edge of the building, making him jerk the wing close to his body involuntarily, which sent him skidding on his left side.

He could hear his crew scrambling to clip in somewhere higher as he slid to a halt, Liberty allowing himself to slump to the ground as soon as he stopped moving. He only kept his eyes open because he could feel Steve walking along his side. Liberty lifted his head from the ground, trying to jerk his wing away as Steve touched it. The wing was only painful on the back edge, but he knew what Steve would do. He whined in an attempt to direct Steve's attention from the wound, earning himself a sharp look.

"Lift it."

It was a command, and one Liberty knew he had no hope of getting around. He flinched and lifted his wing from its position by his side. Having it stretched out hurt, Liberty finally able to see why. The blast hadn't just hit the bottom edge of his wing; it had managed to catch a good portion of his flank as well. There was an angry red welt there, on that Liberty was more used to from seeing other dragons getting hit by his sparks than on his own scales. Liberty hissed, glad when Steve reached up to pet the good portion of his wing for reassurance.

Just behind Steve, Liberty could see Clint crouched at the furthest extent of the burn. The archer was shaking his head. "He won't be flying with that. He can barely hold the wing up now."

Steve let go of his shaking wing, Liberty quickly folding it back by his side. The wound didn't hurt so much when he kept his wing folded, and it helped calm him because it was covered, protected. He reached around to nudge at the wing, shooting an apologetic look at Steve. "We didn't bring anything."

His captain raised a hand to rake through his hair, but Steve seemed to remember that he was wearing his cowl. Steve dropped the hand back to his side, looking up at the sky.

Liberty followed his gaze, snarling at the sight of the aliens streaming in. There were too many to just leave, because it would take him forever to get to the covert on foot. And, knowing Steve, he would want to be there with him. By then, Loki's plan would have succeeded. Besides, they needed him for his size and fire, even if he couldn't fly.

He rolled back onto his feet, ignoring the shouts from his crew and the way Steve hit the ground in a roll. Liberty shifted his wing against the wound, hoping that it would cover it enough that it wouldn't come under the alien's fire. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of reversing the Kevlar vest that he wore; using the intact side to cover the wound, but the vest would just rub against the injury and cause him more pain, especially since they couldn't cover it. And, more importantly, it would take time that none of them had.

He crouched low to the ground, looking back at where Natasha and Clint were still clipped in. He bared his teeth at them. "Unclip, now."

"Liberty-"

He swung his head around to look at his captain. "You need everyone on this and that includes me."

Steve shook his head. "It's bad."

"Then it will have to wait." Liberty saw Clint and Natasha slide off his back, both of them using his left side to avoid the welt. He stood up, shaking himself off before looking at Steve. He rolled his shoulder, watching as Steve's gaze darted up to the two bars that were on his harness. Liberty hadn't had them taken off, not even after Steve had been revived. He was not ready to give his own position up, not when he had thoroughly earned it. "I can do this."

Steve narrowed his eyes, but took Liberty's assertion with a stiff nod. There was bound to be a talk later, but that was something that Liberty could easily deal with. Their responsibility was New York.

He lifted himself off the ground and walked away from the plaza, hearing the three humans follow him. Liberty kept his right wing close to his body, hoping that no one would jostle them. At least the area near Stark Tower was mostly cleared, Liberty stepping over the abandoned cars and hearing glass crunch under his feet. He snorted, lifting his head slightly to try and get it above the layer of smoke that had begun to form.

The street reminded him of the bombed out cities of Europe that he had seen, made even more strange by the fact that the buildings around them were mostly intact, just chunks taken off the corners.

Liberty glanced down to check on Steve, not surprised to see him looking around for civilians. It was the first thing that Steve had done when they had passed cities like this during the war. The Howling Commandos hadn't always been able to airlift the survivors out, but they always dutifully radioed their positions in for the army to be on the look out for them.

He was considering what it would take to airlift citizens out of New York with the dragons that were already grounded when there was a loud roar from above them.

Automatically, Liberty crouched over his crew, just barely remembering to keep his wings close to his body. He wouldn't blend into the street well with his colors, but it was an instinctual reaction. He had to protect his crew until he figured out if it was dangerous to them. From the sound alone, Liberty was willing to bet that it was. He bared his teeth and looked up at the sky, all intentions of threatening whatever was coming at them disappearing.

An enormous armored creature descended out of the wormhole, the creature looking like a multi-limbed whale. Liberty stared at the creature as it flew through the air. It didn't fly like a dragon; it looked like it would be more at home in the water. It undulated through the sky of New York, carelessly knocking against buildings and sending pieces of them shearing off. Liberty followed the fall of the masonry, staring at the shattered pieces in shock. Even armored dragons couldn't cause that kind of damage; they were more likely to hurt themselves.

Liberty looked back up at a series of mechanical clicks. What he thought was just armor on the sides of the leviathan slid open, revealing more of the aliens before they were launched. Liberty dared to lift his head, watching as the aliens grabbed onto the buildings on either side of their transport and began to ready their weapons. All the while, the giant whale flew on, pushing its way through the city.

As soon as it was gone, Liberty felt at ease enough to rise from his crouch and step away from his crew. He rose up onto his hind legs, trying to track the creature's progress through the city. When he lost the creature, he dropped back down on all fours, staring at the portal. He scraped his claws against the asphalt to keep himself from opening his wings. They needed to get up there, but Liberty couldn't think of a feasible way, especially when there were other things to occupy their attention.

He turned to look at Steve for their plan, not surprised to see Steve with a hand to his ear, speaking over the comm. "Stark, are you seeing this?"

Liberty didn't see Tony in the area, but he bet that he was still up in the sky somewhere. With the sky completely clear of dragons, Iron Man would have all the maneuvering room he wanted. Liberty eyed the nearest building, contemplating scaling it and using the top as a perch to breathe fire on the aliens or for short glide. He was sure that he would be able to keep the right wing open long enough to reach the next roof. It was a plan that Steve wouldn't approve of, but on that would give him all of the advantages that he usually had.

"Banner?" He whipped his head around at Steve's confused question, not having time to ask when a group of chariots swooped overhead.

Liberty dodged to the side, pressing himself against a building as the humans rushed to the cover of overturned cars. He spared a moment to watch his crew, waiting until they were all safely in place before rearing up on his hind legs and slapping one of the chariots out of the air. Liberty following it down to the ground, slamming back down onto all fours with his talons digging into the aliens. The creatures screeched before going still. He hissed, bouncing on the bodies to make sure that they were really dead before stepping away and looking for the others.

They had already made it out onto the bridge, ducking behind the cover of more cars. Liberty walked to join them, not bothering to hide. The buildings dwarfed him, but there was no cover that would hide him well enough. He would just have to keep on the look out for more of the chariots.

Liberty lowered himself to a crouch by Steve, flipping his tail to one side so Natasha and Clint could use it for cover. Steve reached up to pat his shoulder, Liberty leaning into the touch.

Dull thuds made him look up, Liberty growling as he saw the aliens advancing upon their position. He went to move forward when the whine of engines made him look away, ready for the next flight of chariots to pass over them. Liberty swung his head to the side at the sound of explosions, watching the chariots swing over them after a strafing run on the people on the street below. Liberty went to snatch at one of them, but Steve gave his shoulder a slap, an order to stay down.

Liberty turned his head to look at his captain, Steve pointing towards the people in the street below, Liberty perking up at the whine of engines as the chariots came around again. He glanced down at Steve, his captain standing up and adjusting the shield on his arm. "They're fish in a barrel down there."

The sound of weapons being fired distracted his attention from the trapped people. Liberty ducked his head to present less of a target, not surprised when he saw Natasha stand up to return fire. She ducked back down quickly enough, but Liberty could see at least two dead on the ground.

Natasha peeked out from where she was hiding, managing to get off a few more shots during her quick reconnaissance. Liberty saw her flash Clint a series of numbers with her fingers, a count of what was out there. Clint nodded without hesitation, taking out his bow and snapping it out of its compact state. At Clint's motion, Natasha turned back to look at Steve, giving him a gentle shooing motion. "We got this. It's good. Go."

Steve raised an eyebrow at her, looking over the top of the overturned taxi. "You think you can hold them off?"

"Captain," Clint fiddled with his bow, Liberty watching as Clint readied an arrow, "it would be my genuine pleasure."

Clint popped up from behind his cover and fired, Liberty hearing the electric buzz of the arrow as it triggered.

Apparently, that was enough for Steve. His captain nodded and edged out from behind the car, both Clint and Natasha ready to act as cover. Liberty glanced their way before crawling after Steve, surprised when his captain pressed a hand against his muzzle. "No. You stay here with them."

"Steve…"

"It's only going to get worse and I need you to be ready." Steve gave him a pat before jumping over the rail of the bridge.

Liberty stood up to watch him go, keeping track of Steve even as his captain disappeared among the rush of people. He craned his neck up to check for more chariots. They were there, but not diving. Their concentration seemed to be on keeping the dragons that tried to escape grounded. Liberty growled and turned his attention back to Clint and Natasha.

The two of them had already dodged through the maze of cars. Natasha was laying down a covering fire as Clint helped people out of a bus. Liberty nodded to himself and bounded over to where Natasha was holding them off, reaching out to slash at one of the aliens as it came close. He exchanged a look with Natasha before wading into aliens.

He blazed a path through them, dodging their attempts to stab him with the bayonet-like fixtures at the end of their weapons. Thankfully, they seemed to be cautious about him, aiming their guns at him but hesitating. They were probably confused by the fact that he was fighting back, especially when all the other dragons seemed to be content to just hide and snap at them. Liberty was too aware that he wouldn't be something to be cautious around for long, they would get his measure soon enough. Until then, he would hold off breathing fire. He wanted one thing that would send them scurrying back when he got too tired to knock them back.

Liberty retreated, letting Natasha use his body as cover to dart out in front of him, picking off the bolder of the aliens. He stepped around her, using a car to get some height on his jump as he crashed into the back lines of the soldiers.

He repeated his earlier pattern, lashing out with his claws and tail as he made his way towards where Natasha was shooting steadily into the group. Every once and a while he would snatch up one of the aliens in his jaws. It wasn't as easy to just crush them, there was a short moment when he was stopped by the armor before the armor gave. Liberty shook his head from side to side just to make sure that the alien was dead before tossing it aside.

He leaned down for the next one, quickly jerking his head back when an arrow thudded into the alien's body. Liberty stepped over the dead alien, flicking two more aside so he could stand close to Clint.

The archer laughed, bumping his shoulder against Liberty's foreleg before setting up another shot. "Just like Budapest all over again."

Liberty and Natasha exchanged a look, Natasha even shooting a glare at Clint. Liberty remembered Budapest mostly from above, where he had been chasing off dragons while Natasha had fought her way through on the ground. The reinforcements had been with Coulson and they had found out that Clint had gotten side tracked to a place where the fighting had been lighter. They had tried to pull where he had been out of him, but Clint had answered differently each time. The last time they had asked, Clint had said it had been a coffee shop.

Natasha rolled her eyes, slipping easily into place beside Clint. "You and I remember Budapest very differently."

Liberty snorted at the two of them, lowering his head to pick up another one of the aliens and fling it against the nearest building. The creature screeched, going silent after it knocked against the brick. He gave a short nod at the crunch, looking for his next target.

More aliens were sweeping towards them, far more than the three of them could handle alone. Liberty might be able to knock some of them away, but he had seen how they had scaled the walls of the buildings. It wouldn't take them long to get back to the bridge. And, by then, there would be more coming toward them. He could only help so much without becoming overwhelmed himself. As it was, any swipe he made with his right foreleg was coming up short, Liberty careful not to stretch his injury too much. If the aliens were soldiers of any kind, they would recognize his weakness and start attacking him there. Even with Clint and Natasha, he wouldn't be able to guard himself against so many.

He hissed and spun quickly, using the momentum of his tail to knock the attacking aliens to the side. Only a few were knocked over the railing, most were crushed against the railing. Liberty repeated the move before swinging back around again, trying to keep his hindquarters carefully guarded. Aside from his wound, he had his wings to worry about. Any attack to them could keep him grounded and useless.

Liberty saw Steve clamber back over the railing of the bridge. He didn't have the time to call out to his captain; he was too busy driving the aliens back while Natasha tumbled from one's shoulders. Liberty stepped out of her way as she rolled onto her feet, holding the alien's weapon. He gave her room to work, trying to drift back towards his captain.

Apparently, their small numbers were enough to encourage a group attack.

The aliens fell back a moment, Liberty looking back over towards Steve. The way they were retreating and the sounds of chattering from the other streets meant that they were gathering. It was going to be a rush.

Steve shook off his shield, Liberty seeing his captain scouting out potential places to position Natasha and Clint. Steve didn't have the time to call of the plan before the aliens were rushing forward.

Liberty braced himself for the assault, jumping backward as the aliens running in the front were electrocuted from above. He glanced up as Thor came down from the sky, stumbling on his landing. He dropped his gaze to the hammer that Thor carried, taking a step back just to put distance between himself and the weapon. It wasn't the hammer itself that he was afraid of, but the lightening. All dragons were wary of lightning, Liberty had been constantly warned off by older dragons, both by stories and horrible wounds.

Thor didn't seem to notice the way that Liberty was eyeing the hammer, too busy making his way over to Steve. As the god passed him, Liberty caught the scent of blood on the god. He snorted and shook his head, but sure of what to make of the smell. He had thought that Thor would have been invincible because of his god status, but he had been wrong.

He stepped to the side, the move giving Thor the chance to stand behind Liberty's protective bulk. All the aliens had been taken out by Thor, but Liberty was sure that others would follow. They had proved themselves to be a threat. If the aliens were any kind of army, they would focus on taking them out first.

Liberty lowered his head so he could hear the conversation going on, keeping one eye on the other end of the bridge.

Steve leaned against his shoulder, adjusting the shield on his arm as he stared up the portal. "What's the story upstairs?"

"The powers surrounding the cube are impenetrable." Thor made a helpless gesture toward the tower.

Liberty followed the gesture with his gaze, narrowing his eyes as the blue light that was pulsing from the top. He bared his teeth, wanting to climb up to the top and try himself. He trusted Thor enough to have performed a through attempt, but he wanted to try anyway. It was a machine after all, and machines had part that could easily be melted.

He jerked his head toward the tower. "Let me-"

"Thor is right." Tony cut him, off, Liberty tipping his head back in the hope that he could see Tony flying past. When the red and gold suit didn't appear, Liberty huffed in annoyance. He had hoped to do something more helpful than slash at aliens. Another attempt at the machine couldn't hurt.

Liberty looked over at Steve, expecting the shake of the head that he got. He huffed and looked up at the sky, preferring to speak to the sky like Tony was there. "What do we do?"

The answer came back quickly. "We gotta deal with these guys."

Liberty rolled his eyes at the vagueness of Tony's plan. But it was a valid suggestion; the aliens had to be dealt with before the number of fatalities rose. But that would be difficult in itself.

He swung his head back around to look at his crew where they stood behind them, catching the way that Natasha fiddled with her pistols before holstering them.

For a moment, it looked like she was going to turn to him, because it had been habit before. Then, she looked over at Steve, Liberty not insulted by the move. He was better at aerial plans, while Steve was the better at fighting on the ground. He lowered his head and nudged Steve as Natasha spoke up. "How do we do this?"

"As a team." There was no hesitation in Steve's answer, and it was the only was that Liberty could think of. There were too many to deal with individually. And they couldn't save the civilians that were in danger on their own.

Liberty swung his had around to glare at the others. He knew that Clint and Natasha would follow Steve. They were his crew and they knew how to take orders. Tony was still questionable, but Liberty trusted him to make the right decision, even if he had to push Tony to it. Thor was the only one he wasn't sure about, and the only one that he was sure that he couldn't threaten. The thought didn't stop him from his glare, although he shifted when Thor adjusted his grip on the hammer.

"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor hefted the hammer slightly, Liberty baring his teeth at the motion.

He was saved from having to try and enforce his captain's order by Clint. The archer glanced up from where he was adjusting the fit of a head of one of his arrows. Clint narrowed his eyes, holding the arrow slightly higher, mirroring Thor's earlier motion. "Yeah? Get in line."

For a moment, it looked like there would be another fight between them. Liberty looked between the two of them and quickly lost his patience. They had been doing nothing but fighting each other, which had led to letting Loki escape. Constant fighting had given Loki the chance to kill Coulson. Liberty hadn't gotten the chance to mourn one of his crew yet, he didn't want to have to lose someone else so soon.

He stepped between Clint and Thor with a snarl. "Quiet!"

Thor turned to face him, raising his hammer. "Control your dragon, Captain. I do not like to be threatened."

Steve reached out and tapped Liberty's muzzle, the reprimand enough to get Liberty to stop his snarling. He did try to glare at Thor, which Steve stopped as well, reaching out to shove at Liberty's muzzle to try and divert his attention away. "Save it."

Liberty allowed himself to be moved, going back to his original job of scanning for incoming aliens.

His wordless agreement seemed to be enough for Steve, because his captain turned back toward their small group. Liberty felt Steve sweep an appraising gaze over all of them, probably already in the midst of a battle plan. It would have been easier for all of them if they knew each other well, but Liberty was confident. Steve had stumbled into worse situations and come out on top.

It barely took Steve a moment before he was stepping back, gesturing at Stark Tower. Thor was the only one that followed the motion, both Natasha and Clint completely focused on Steve as he talked. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him these things could run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us…"

The puttering of an engine made them all turn around, Liberty flaring both of his wings in surprise. In all of the confusion, he didn't think that anyone would be trying to drive.

He hissed and lowered his right wing quickly back over the welt, leaving his other wing flared open. If an enemy was coming, then it would make him look larger. Liberty wasn't sure that it would work on the aliens, but he hoped that it would at least give them pause. It was one of the few advantages that he had left to him.

Liberty relaxed slowly when he saw that Banner was driving up on a small motorbike. He took a slow step forward, a bit shocked by the scientist's appearance. The last he had seen of Banner had been when the man had plummeted from the Helicarrier as Hulk. Liberty shifted nervously in place, freezing when Banner looked over at him. He lowered himself to the ground, trying to make himself look as less threatening as he could. It was the only thing he could thinking under the apprising gaze.

To his relief, Banner looked away quickly, his attention on the humans that were gathered around in Liberty's protective curl. Banner wrung his hands together before gesturing to the city at large. "So, this all seems horrible."

Liberty snorted, the sound blocking the short exchange that Natasha and Banner had. He looked between the two, surprised at the accord they seemed to have settled into in the space of a few words. Natasha was never one to just settle with a new team, it took her a while for her to trust that they would cover her back. He edged closer to Natasha, trying to see what she was thinking, only for her to gently push his head away.

There was a lot in that movement, a simple reminder that it was none of his business, but that she would explain later. Liberty pressed back against her hand before stepping away. He sought out Steve instead, standing behind his captain.

His new position would allow him to cover Steve if one of the giant whales sailed back over, but he would also be able to act as cover for everyone standing around him. It would take him stretching out both wings, but Liberty would be able to deal with the pain for the brief moment it would take the alien leviathan to sweep by. Even Thor and Banner would be covered, which was just as important. Steve said that they would have to work as a team, and Liberty was going to make sure that all of them would make it through the day alive. Liberty wasn't sure about both Thor and Banner, but the important thing was that they had come back to help. That was more than enough to protect them and call them his. Liberty couldn't imagine anyone better for Fury's Avengers Initiative than a god and the Hulk. Now all they needed was Tony.

Almost like thinking about him had summoned the human, Tony's voice came over the communicator. "Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

Liberty swung his head to try and catch sight of Tony, rocking back slightly on his hind legs as he saw the suit swing around the corner of a building. He huffed and thumped down on all fours, about to shoot back his own witty reply when there was a roar.

He crouched down over the five humans instinctively, staring at the huge creature that was following close on Tony's heels. Liberty hissed at the creature, searching out weak points. But the leviathan was armored completely from what he could tell with no joins that he could see. There was no way to pry the armor open and there would be no way to burn it off. Unlike the Kazilik dragons that had been his ancestors, Liberty's fire didn't burn hot enough to melt armor. The only way he could think of doing it would be to land on one of the leviathans and breathe directly on one spot. It would take far too long and Liberty doubted that the creature would hold still to let him.

He didn't notice Banner moving away from the cover he had provided until the man was already too far away. His first instinct was to lunge for Banner, but he stopped himself at the last minute, rocking up onto his toes. There was no telling what Banner would do when Liberty lunged and he didn't particularly want to be faced with an angry Banner when he landed.

Instead, he rocked back until he was flat footed on the ground, growling when Steve stepped away from him as well. There was no way that he would be able to fight off the creature, so he needed his captain to be close. He needed Steve to be where he could easily be snatched up and taken away.

Steve reached behind him, waving a hand at Liberty. It wasn't much of an assurance, but it seemed to be the only one that Steve would give him. His captain's attention was fully on Banner and he trusted Liberty to guard his back. It was all Liberty could do.

He grumbled and settled lower, feeling Natasha rest a hand on his side. It wasn't settling, but it proved that she was still there. And, until an order came, Clint would be hovering close by. Tony was still too high for him to reach, which left Thor as the only one that Liberty couldn't place, but he assumed that the god could take care of himself.

Liberty ducked his head to check on the god, just in case. The sound of Steve's voice had him turning his head just enough to bring his captain and Banner back into his line of sight.

"Dr. Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry." Liberty didn't know what to make of the small smile that Banner gave the group, but he tensed out of habit, getting ready to fly.

He almost took flight when Banner changed, choking down his trill of shock as the man changed. He only saw Banner's skin ripple and turn green before he looked away, staring at the ground and digging his claws in. It was far easier to just stare at the ground and remind himself that it was just Banner, it was something that he knew somewhat instead of an unknown. The Hulk was on their side, but he was enough of something strange that Liberty wanted to run. The sound of metal and bone crunching made him look back over, staring at the front of the leviathan.

The front of the creature crumpled, metal and flesh both, under the fist of the Hulk. It was a feat that nothing should have been able to pull off, nothing that Liberty knew of at least. Maybe a heavyweight dragon would have been able to rip it apart, but it would have been slow going, and not with the same force.

Liberty was sure that he whimpered, not having long to linger as the shadow of the back end of the creature arched up before continuing its fall. He stared at it for a moment before dropping back onto his haunches, getting ready to catch the leviathan when it toppled over.

He didn't get the chance, Tony swooping in and firing a rocket at the creature. Liberty saw the rocket hit flesh, a gap opening in the armor that was shattering and falling to the side. He saw the rocket flare for a moment, the only warning that he got before the creature's body caught on fire. Liberty stared at it for a moment before dodging to the side. He saw Thor lift up his hammer and Steve cover both him and Natasha with his shield, which just left Clint. Liberty caught him up as the archer rushed for the cover of a taxi, tossing Clint ahead of him to get the human to safety.

Liberty didn't have the time to duck behind the taxi himself, but he jumped up onto it, one of his forelegs planted on the ground. With a grimace, he spread his wings, shielding Clint from as much of the fall out as he could.

He hissed as the burning chunks of metal and leviathan landed on his back. He wasn't protected from fire except for in his mouth, so the sparks stung, especially so on the welt on his right. Liberty shivered, trying to shake the sparks from his back before they burned. He still had a battle ahead and was going in injured, he had to be careful.

The sizzle of the leviathan died out, quickly replaced by a roar from above. Liberty lifted his head, stepping back away from the taxi as he spotted the aliens on the buildings. It suddenly made sense why they hadn't attacked from the ground again; the scattered bodies of their comrades had made it clear enough that attacking in the same manner would end in disaster. Liberty cursed his inattention to the sky, because a dragon's first instinct was to always look up.

He backed up further, turning slowly to try and count how many of the creatures were on the buildings, but there were too many to count. He ducked his head in the face of the numbers, trying to work out a way to get to them. Without the ability to fly, he wouldn't be able to get up to the aliens. Liberty gave a weak hiss, curling in on himself. With the buildings covered in aliens, he just wanted to run. But his one known escape route was taken.

Liberty didn't know he was making a sound of distress until he saw Steve step up on his right side. He relaxed when Steve hefted his shield. His captain was close and guarding his injured side. Natasha was quick to slide into place beside Steve, both of her guns at the ready. Liberty expected Clint to slide in beside Natasha, as he always had done, but Thor was there first. Liberty thought he heard Clint fall in behind him, but he was distracted by the answering roar that the Hulk gave the aliens.

He ducked his head, staring at the green creature that was to his left, relieved when Tony finally landed on the ground. The Hulk was still new, still too unpredictable for him to just give into easily. It was like having a new dragon on the team, and no time to figure out how the two of them would work together. At least they would have the run of New York for a while, hopefully that would be enough time for him to come to some kind of conclusion.

He straightened up, raising his head as high as it would go before flaring his wings. The action hurt, but it would look impressive, the sun coming through the blue membrane and his matching blue chest puffed out. It was a display of his colors that worked to intimidate other dragons, but he wasn't sure it would work on the aliens. It was the best he could do, especially after Hulk's roar.

Liberty bared his teeth as he saw the aliens begin to scramble down from the sides of the buildings, stepping slightly out of the circle. If they came at them, Liberty wanted to be able to break free first. He could protect the humans with his bulk and give Steve some more time to come up with a plan, or spell them for a bit. From the look of the force, it would take a while for them to evacuate one part of the city and fight off the aliens, no matter what Steve's plan was.

He was about to charge out to meet the first aliens that were stepping down when a low rumble caught his attention. It was too low for the humans to hear, something that he was used to listening for from other dragons. Liberty craned his head up, flaring his wings out to protect his small ground as he saw three more leviathans slipping through the portal. All of them were just as heavily armored as the first one had been, and all of them probably coming through the portal with a full load of aliens.

Liberty swallowed and pulled his wings close to his body, unable to stand the pain from the right one any longer. He hadn't counted the first time the aliens had been deployed, a mistake on his part. Then again, he had thought that the load that had been sent had been the entire invading force. But it had just been the first wave and they didn't know how many more would follow.

Natasha followed his gaze, Liberty seeing her guns drop for a moment before she slid back into position. It was the only sign that she was frightened. When she spoke, her voice didn't wobble. "Guys."

To his surprise, it was Tony that turned to Steve. "Call it, Cap."

Steve didn't seem to be as shocked as Liberty was. Then again, Liberty wasn't sure that Steve registered who had spoken; he had just been assessing the situation and waiting for the right time to speak. Liberty saw him adjust the shield on his arm before turning around to look at all of them. "Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment." He pointed at Clint, before turning his body to point at a building. "Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays."

Steve didn't pause to see Clint nod, already turning to look at Tony. Liberty tensed, ready for the same back and forth they had been sharing since they had met, only to relax when Steve kept his professional cool. "Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything that gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

Liberty lowered his head to press the end of his muzzle gently against the top of Clint's head, getting a pet in return. Then Clint was stepping away to Tony's side. Liberty hesitated for a moment before repeating the move on Tony, surprised when Tony reached up to stroke the side of his muzzle.

"I guess I didn't keep my promise. You're still a soldier."

"It's what I do best."

Tony laughed, dropping his hand and stepping away. "In that case, I take it back. You and Capsicle over there are perfect for each other." Liberty snorted at him, a little disappointed when the suit appeared unaffected. Tony just laughed against and gave him a sloppy salute. "You watch yourself out there. I don't want to come and rescue you, it'll ruin Cap's plan."

Before Liberty could respond, Tony grabbed Clint and pushed off the ground. Liberty craned his neck to watch them go, tracking them until Clint was safely deposited at his spot. He looked back at Steve, who was pushing on and gesturing at Thor.

"Thor, you've gotta try and bottleneck the portal. Slow them down. You've got the lightning; light the bastards up." Liberty could tell the moment that Steve forgot that he couldn't fly, his captain turning towards him, probably with the order to act as support. He saw Steve's fingers curl towards his palm for a moment before he shook his head. "Do what you can to take those big things down. Thin out the ranks and keep them away from civilians. And, whatever you do, don't fly."

Liberty gave a sharp nod, standing back from the swinging hammer as Thor took off. He glanced at the god before turning to his captain and whuffing gently onto Steve's cowl. Just like Clint, he got a pat on the nose. He repeated the move with Natasha, surprised by the hug and kiss that she gave him before waving him off.

It was unlike her to be demonstrative with her affections, but he could have gotten her sympathy because he was hurt. Liberty looked between the three remaining, hesitating for a moment before extending his muzzle to the Hulk. He wasn't sure what the Hulk would do, but it would be unfair to leave before giving his last greeting, it was a dragon habit.

The Hulk stared at him for a moment before resting one finger on his muzzle, much gentler that Liberty had thought. He rested under the weight for a moment before stepping back. He felt his flanks brush up against a car, the scrape of metal telling him that he was close to the railing of the bridge. It was easy enough from there to find a hold on the bridge without looking away. It was a last check just to be sure that Steve would hold up alright, confirmed enough for him by the nod that Steve gave.

Liberty turned away, bracing himself against the stone railing of the bridge before stepping down into the street. Behind him, he could hear Steve finishing off his round of orders, Liberty jumping when the Hulk suddenly leapt from the bridge. He twisted around to see the green creature slam into a building, watching a group of aliens fall to the ground. Despite his surprise, he found himself excited. Because it was battle, and better yet, one that really counted.

He turned and took off at a trot down the street.

* * *

Liberty grunted and hauled himself further up the side of the building, jamming his claws into the mortar as deep as they would go. It wasn't the most secure hold that he was able to get, but it was enough to hold him up and he didn't intend to hang on the building for too long. He just needed to get to higher ground. It was the only thing that would keep him from the constant strafing runs that were going on in the streets.

He had spend most of the battle running through the main thoroughfares and trying to pick off the aliens that were on the ground, leaving the larger creatures to the Hulk and Thor since Liberty couldn't get into the air on his own anymore. He had had luck once, managing to repeat a move that he had seen the Hulk carry out by jumping up and grabbing onto the piece of armor that ran along the jaw of the leviathan. Liberty had managed to send the creature crashing into the ground and tear off the armor from there, but he hadn't been able to repeat the move, especially since the chariots seemed to be targeting him especially.

One sped by underneath him, Liberty snorting and swinging his tail. There was a satisfying crunch as the back of the chariot was crushed and the whole thing went spiraling to the ground. He nodded to himself and continued his climb, ignoring the pain along his right side.

The vest he had gone into battle wearing was in tatters and hanging off parts of his harness. Its destruction was part of the reason Liberty had decided to take to the rooftops. The chariots had been focusing on him after he had taken down the leviathan, trying to shoot at him through the vest when it had still been intact or distracting him while the foot soldiers had tried to board. Liberty had gotten tired of shaking them off, just like he had gotten tired of feeling the hot sting of the energy weapons they were using. His scales would be covered by smaller burns by the time that the battle was over.

Liberty pulled himself onto the roof of the building, edging carefully back into the center. He let out a sigh of relief when the roof held under his weight, glancing around. The building he had chosen wasn't particularly high, but it was close to other buildings, others that he could climb to get higher. He would never be able to obtain the height that he would flying, but it was enough.

He peered over the side of the building, digging his claws in to keep his balance without having to spread his wings. After all of the running and fighting, the wound from Loki's staff had started to bleed. There were scratches over it too, where the aliens had tried to grab at him. Liberty resisted the urge to peek back at the wound, his wing was pressed over it and it was hidden well enough. Everything else would have to wait.

A group of chariots passed by underneath him, Liberty adjusting his grip. He opened his mouth and spat sparks down on them, pulling his head up as some of the chariots burst into flames. One spun out of control had hit the front runner. The whole group wasn't destroyed, but it would be good enough. Tony and Clint would take care of the rest that were circling around the city, but that was one group less.

Liberty raised his head, watching as a small group of dragons took advantage of the break to take off. He could see the faint dots that were people clinging to the belly netting that the dragons had. Liberty couldn't be sure about how many people were getting out, but the dragons looked to all be light to middle weight. They were sure to head to the nearest covert or wherever the agreed drop off point was, meaning that there were less people to worry about in the city. Better yet, the dragons weren't panicked and attacking anything that came their way.

He stepped away from the edge of the building, turning to judge the leap to the next building. It wasn't too far, certainly not enough to make him glide. Liberty winced at the thought, moving his right wing and feeling how tacky it felt. Gliding was the extent of what he could do, and not for very long. Still, it was better than just running around through the streets of New York, especially when his muscles already ached from that. Dragons were not meant to spend much time running, and definitely not on a hard surface.

He got a quick running start, pushing off the edge of the roof. It was an easy jump, Liberty able to get a good hold on the building with his front legs. He scrambled at the side of the building with his hind legs, one foot finding a ledge and allowing him to boost himself up. Liberty strained to reach another hold, finally getting a good grip on the building. He took a moment to hang and catch his breath.

Beneath him, the road was clear. It would give him the time to be careful crossing the rooftops. Maybe he could even climb higher and try to catch one of the leviathans. From a high enough perch, he would be able to jump down on the creature's back and force it down. All of that armor would keep the creature from twisting quickly enough. And all of the weight would crush the creature, hopefully before it managed to let its load of soldiers off.

Liberty scanned for another one of the leviathans, grumbling when he didn't spot one. He would work his way over to where he had last seen Steve and see if he could help his captain. The perimeter was well taken care off at his last check, just before he had gotten overwhelmed and had decided to abandon the streets.

He glanced up at the roof above him and continued his climb, placing his claws carefully. The building would retain some damage, holes where he dug his claws in and on the lower level where he had first landed. It was far better than what the aliens and leviathans had been doing.

Liberty hauled himself over the edge, giving the area a quick check over before focusing on the next building. This jump would require a glide, the gap making him wince. It would hurt to keep his wing out, but it was easily manageable if just for a short distance.

The wing didn't unfurl the first time he tried to pull it away from his side, sticking to his side because of the blood. Liberty turned his head, tucking it under the wing and nudging it free from the side of his body. It came free, Liberty wincing a little at the pain. But the wound wasn't looking any worse, enough of an encouragement to keep him going.

Liberty gently opened and closed his wing, testing it for strength before turning to the jump. He tensed his hindquarters, about to make his run when he heard Natasha's voice come over the radio.

"I can close it! Can anybody hear me? I can shut the portal down!"

He swung his head in the direction of Stark Tower, nostrils flaring. He could understand the exhaustion in Natasha's voice, but there was a bit of desperation and maybe fear, something that made him want to change his plans. It would be easy enough to get to the tower, but it would take longer. It would mean more gliding, but he needed to check up on his crew, especially the one that had been fighting on the ground for most of the battle.

"Do it!"

He barely heard Steve's voice over the sound of his running and the grunt of effort that he made when he jumped. The new path that he had chosen meant that he would be landing just under the next building's roof, Liberty nearly holding his breath as he felt his right wing shake. It held for the flight over, but he worried that he would be able to use it to glide for long. He would have to start scaling down the buildings and jumping from there, which was probably more dangerous than what he was doing, especially when he got to some of the places where the aliens had gathered.

Liberty turned in place, trying to plot out his next jump as he spoke. "I'm getting over there as fast as I can. I'll keep them off of you. Start when you can."

"No, wait!" Tony's shout threw off his next jump, Liberty swinging sideways on his leap and crashing into a nearby building.

He felt the structure give a bit under his weight, Liberty twisting to cling to the building so his wings wouldn't be buried under falling brick. When the side held, he quickly climbed to the roof, glancing around to orient himself.

The building that he had landed on wasn't too far from his original path, which meant that he could keep going, but he fully intended to give Tony a piece of his mind along the way. Liberty growled low in his throat, about to shout at Tony when the man spoke up again.

"I got a nuke coming in, it's gonna blow in less than a minute. And I know just where to put it."

Liberty stopped dead, feeling his legs tremble before he calmed himself. Tony wouldn't let the nuke land in New York, Tony had it under control. He wouldn't become like the dragons he had seen in the pictures of the aftermath of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Liberty remembered being shown the pictures during his round of training before the Korean War with the warning to be on the alert for the bombs. Then again, all dragons feared any bombs because the smaller ones felt just like bullets knocking against their sides before they exploded. And, even when there was time to get away, the explosion would foul a flight. Liberty had seen enough dragons hurled to the ground because of an explosion to balk at the idea of getting closer to a bomb.

He tuned out the rest of the conversation, picking up the pace as he worked his way closer to Stark Tower. At the moment, he was more worried about covering distance than getting height, but there were plenty of tall buildings that he could scramble up when he got closer to his chosen perch.

As he got deeper into the fighting zone, Liberty could see more aliens converging. He snarled at the sight, slowing down long enough to spit fire over them before moving on, hoping that the action would be enough.

There were other dragons down on the streets, most hiding in the shadows of buildings and only striking out when the aliens strayed too close, but a few were getting bold. Liberty nodded to himself, barely slowing down enough to aim correctly for his next jump. They would hold the perimeter well enough while Tony was busy.

Liberty scrambled against the decorative edge of one roof, his talons sliding in the carvings before he grabbed the edge and pulled himself up, feeling the decorative flower give and fall away as his pulled his back feet away. He turned long enough to make sure that no one was hurt before turning to make the next jump. He was distracted by a flash of red as it went past quickly.

He rocked onto his hind legs, straining his neck up to track Tony as the suit disappeared into the portal. Liberty held his breath for a moment before beginning to move again. He had to remember that Tony had everything under control; there was nothing that he could do other than get to the tower. The aliens would figure out what they were doing and try and take them down. He could spell Steve and whoever was down with his captain now, just long enough for Tony to take care of the portal. Whatever came next they could deal with later.

Three more buildings were scaled easily, Liberty panting for breath as he clambered over the edge of the third. They were growing in size too, meaning that he would be drawing level with something that would get him close to the height of Stark Tower. He wasn't sure that the distance would be enough to glide, but Liberty was sure that he had enough in him for a short flight, if it was just the last few feet to the tower.

He grumbled as he jumped for the next building, missing his hold and skidding down a story before he caught himself. Liberty braced himself as much as he could, looking up abruptly as the blue light that had bathed New York disappeared. He frowned and scurried up to the roof, flinging himself onto the flat surface and staring up at the sky.

The portal was closed and Tony was safe. He gave a triumphant roar, extending his wings and flapping them. Liberty heard the call echoed around the city as other dragons realized what had happened, which probably mean that they would be attacking the alien force, finally. It would ease some of the pressure off of them.

Liberty glanced back up at Tony, his relief disappearing as he stared at the suit. None of the thrusters were activated and Tony was falling back first. It wasn't a controlled fall, it was a plummet.

He gave a cry of distress, glancing around for a tall building that would allow him to reach Tony. There were none close enough and Liberty wasn't sure that he would be able to reach Tony from where he was. He needed more height.

Liberty stared up at the sky, making a split second decision. Tony was the one in trouble and he was sure that Natasha could hold her own for a while more. He snarled to himself and set out at a run. At the edge of the roof he pushed off with a grunt, jumping up rather than out. As soon as he had left the ground Liberty spread his wings, ignoring the surge of pain up his right side, there were more important things to focus on.

He flapped his wings, gaining height slowly. It was hard with his bad wing and he leaned over to the right with every stroke, only to correct when he flapped down with his left wing. He was stable, but he wasn't going to stay in the air for long or be able to get up to his usual speeds. But that wouldn't matter, because Tony was _right there_.

Liberty reached out, feeling his right wing wobble as he stretched it out to its full extent to glide. It would have to hold long enough for him to get close, and all he had to do was reach out.

He stretched out his arm, reaching as far as he could as they skimmed past each other.

His claws skidded across the armor, but Tony was falling too fast for him to catch. The suit fell out of his reach, Liberty screeched and attempted to turn to his right, the wing folding and sending him tumbling to the nearest rooftop. Even as he hit the roof he kept his head turned to see Tony fall away from him.

Liberty bounced as he hit, digging his claws in to turn him. He scrambled for the edge, his right wing dragging behind him as he leaned over the edge. Tony was too far away for him to grab, unless he threw himself from the roof, but he wasn't sure that he would be able to pull out of the free fall in time. But, if it was him or Tony, there was no choice. He was not going to fail again, not like Bucky…

A roar startled him, Liberty flinching to the side as something jumped from the other side of the street. He saw a blur of green before he building he was on shook under his feet. Liberty stared at the Hulk, barely paying attention to him in favor of the red and gold armor that was cradled in the Hulk's arms.

He started down from the building, as soon as the Hulk jumped down to the ground, having to climb down tail first. Liberty rushed as fast as he dared before jumping to the bridge. He didn't bother to regain his balance or fold his injured wing over his side again. A member of his crew was hurt or worse and Liberty needed to know.

Steve and the Hulk stood in his way, the latter growling at him when he pushed up to Tony. He wanted to growl at the Hulk, but there were other priorities to focus on, especially with Tony lying still on the ground.

Liberty stretched past Steve to nudge at Tony, looking hopefully at Steve when Tony didn't move. "We've got to do something."

"Liberty-"

"Call Fury, have him bring med crews in. Have him-" Liberty jumped backward, flaring his wings in surprise as the Hulk roared.

His first impulse was to grab Steve and take to the air. After what happened to Tony, he didn't want to risk his captain when the Hulk didn't seem to be under control.

Liberty was in the middle of closing his claws around Steve was Tony gasped and jerked in place. "What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me?"

Liberty barely let Tony finish the sentence before he stuck his tongue out and licked a stripe up Tony's check, enjoying the sputtering sound that Tony made. Any noise meant that he was alive, and that was important. Tony had fallen and he hadn't lost him, like he had Bucky. Still, he hadn't been able to catch him, but the thought was kept from haunting him by the fact that Hulk had been able to do what he couldn't.

He lifted his head to contemplate the Hulk, leaving Tony to sputter and talk to Steve. There were still matters to solve, like the clean up of New York and how to get Loki back to where he needed to go. But Liberty would leave those in the capable hands of his captain, because it sounded like Steve had things under control. His full attention was on the Hulk.

Cautiously, he stretched out his neck, his head hovering in front of the Hulk's face. When nothing happened, he scooted closer, daring to knock his nose gently against the Hulk's shoulder. "Thank you."

The creature swayed, a look of shock on his face. For a moment, Liberty wasn't sure if the Hulk would even respond, but then the Hulk rested a hand on the top of his muzzle. It wasn't a clamping grip, not like the one used among dragons to keep an opponent's mouth shut or show their place in the covert. It was like a pet, but the Hulk's hand was far bigger than any human's and he wasn't moving it. Liberty leaned into the touch just the same.

The Hulk awkwardly drummed his fingers the top of Liberty's muzzle, Liberty taking it as the signal to move away. To his right, he could hear Steve and Tony discussing something, ignoring the conversation. They weren't antagonizing each other, so Liberty would leave them alone to take stock of everything else.

From what he could see, all the aliens were dead. He would have to check in with Steve later to see when they all died; because it was strange to have an enemy just drop dead. Liberty took a deep breath, just to check if the aliens were really dead. It wasn't a sure test, but it was the only one that he could gather the energy to do. Now that the battle was over and he no longer had to be on the move, he was finally allowing himself to recognize the pain and aches in his body.

The worst of it was centered on his right wing and side, the entire area around the wound throbbing. Liberty wasn't sure if he was still bleeding from the area, but he didn't want to risk getting his wing stuck again. He also didn't have the energy to lift his wing from the ground. No one was going to step on it and it didn't hurt too much where it was. Liberty was sure that he would get a lecture from Steve, but that was also firmly in the category of later.

He settled himself on the ground, resting his head on his forelegs. He barely needed the command to wait in place while the others went after Loki. Liberty did flip his tail in acknowledgement of Steve's order before they went running for Stark Tower. Until then he was more than content to lie where he was and rest.

* * *

The sound of wings woke him up, Liberty lifting his head from the ground to stare at the two dragons that were flying overhead. They circled high above the covert, staying high for a moment before taking their turns at the landing clearing. It was only when they got closer that Liberty was able to tell who they were, and he was surprised to see them back so soon.

After taking Loki into custody, SHIELD's first priority had been looking for the dragons they had lost. None of Loki's former allies had been able to say where they had gone, at least all of those that had returned to SHIELD. The rest, the enemies of SHIELD, had disappeared to be chased after on another day.

The dragons had eventually been found on the other side of the continent, Zephyrinus out in California and Aseneth in Canada. The two of them had been taken to the Helicarrier for questioning and a physical. Liberty hadn't expected them back for another few days, especially with the Council breathing down Fury's neck, if the information that he was being fed by the agents in the covert was right.

It was the one good thing about being laid up at the covert, all of the SHIELD agents were eager to visit and talk with him. Apparently, he was as big of a hero as the rest of the Avengers, if all the news was right. Liberty had seen the news reports and had the paper read to him. While the line was pretty evenly drawn on whether having the Avengers was a good thing or not, there were still plenty of people who were calling them heroes and plenty more who were pleased to see the Sentinel of Liberty being flown by Captain America again.

He rolled more to his left, stretching out his right hind leg and wincing. He could still smell the vile salve that the surgeon had used on the welt, even through the thick bandage. The welt and the cuts that he had gotten from his fight from Zephyrinus were the worst of his wounds, and more than enough to keep him grounded until both were healed completely. Liberty had even heard talk that the covert surgeon was worried that he would never be able to fly again with the burn to the bottom edge of his right wing, something that Liberty scoffed at. The bottom edge might have felt strange, but it was healing. Liberty expected to feel the itch of new skin within days.

There was a thud of a dragon, Liberty turning his attention to Zephyrinus as the dragon trotted through the covert, his head turning anxiously as he called for his captain. "Clay? Clay where are you!"

Liberty heard the answering shout from somewhere close to the entrance, which meant that Clay Quatermain and Jimmy Woo were heading over to their dragons. Apparently they hadn't been allowed to fly over with their captains, probably another precaution on Fury's part. With Loki scheduled to leave that day, Fury probably didn't want the two dragons falling back into his hands.

He lowered his head, ignoring the reunion closer to the entrance in favor of trying to sleep. Sharon Carter had been visiting with him earlier when the surgeon had come to check on him, taking Steve's place while he saw Loki off. She had been worse than Steve about the gentle exercises that the surgeon asked him to do. With Steve, he was able to get away with putting as little effort as possible into the movements, but Sharon had been there poking him along with far more frequency than Steve. His entire side ached, and he wanted to sleep until it was time for him to go and get fed. By then Steve would be back and Liberty could follow Steve around.

Liberty didn't get to fall asleep before he saw Steve pushing his way past Aseneth and Zephyrinus. He didn't bother to get up, letting Steve come to him.

The move got a sympathetic smile, Steve reaching out to rub the underside of Liberty's jaw. He leaned into the attention, accepting the surreptitious treat Steve passed his way. The hamburger tasted good after days of carefully prepared meals and measured supplements. Liberty couldn't wait to get back on the usual feeding schedule, hoping desperately for a good cow in the middle of the stew-like feed that most dragons got. The sudden focus on the optimum feed for dragons, one that took care of all of their needs in one fell swoop, made Liberty miss the old days when he could have just taken down a few sheep or a cow and eaten them without any preparation.

He licked his lips and sniffed at Steve's pockets, not really expecting another treat. Steve might slip him some food, but he didn't dare to mess up the feeding schedule that was set up for the dragons. It was only a matter of time before the agents running the coverts managed to convert Steve to their thinking, and that would end the occasional hamburger that Liberty got, unless Tony came to visit. Liberty had always been able to talk Tony into giving him treats.

Steve walked along Liberty's right side instead of resuming his usual spot on Liberty's foreleg. Liberty huffed and rocked his right side down so Steve could peer at the bandage. "It's not that bad?"

"What did the surgeon say?"

"That I'll be down for a month or so." Liberty flexed his shoulders. "I'd give it half that time."

"You'll give it the whole time." There was the snap of a command in Steve's words, something that was quickly softened. "You're not as young as you used to be. Besides, we don't have anything to do for a while."

"But the Avengers?"

"Done for now." Steve patted his side. "Loki and the Tesseract went back to Asgard."

"Good riddance."

Steve nodded. "And everyone has pretty much gone their separate ways for now. But I don't think that Fury will let us all disappear again. He'll call eventually."

"And until then?"

"Until then we get you fighting fit again. And then we drill with what we have of your crew."

Liberty ducked his head, digging his talons into the dirt. "Clint and Natasha."

"Yes, and Bruce and Tony while they're here, if we can ever get them out of the lab." Liberty looked up in surprise, earning a chuckle from Steve. His captain rooted around in the pockets of his jacket and pulled out some folded paper. Steve unfolded them and held them up for Liberty to see, reading them off himself when the writing proved too small for Liberty. "Effective immediately. The dragon known as Sentinel of Liberty, holding the rank of captain, is to be transferred from field duty with SHIELD operatives to the team known as the Avengers. Full crew assignments will be discussed between Sentinel of Liberty, Director Fury and Captain Steve Rogers before being put into effect." Steve paused to gesture at the other sheet of paper. "And the other is mine. Basically the same thing."

"And the others?"

"I think they're already approved. Fury just wants to have some say in this crazy group of ours."

"Like we could do anything without him." Liberty lifted his head slightly so Steve could clamber up onto his foreleg.

Liberty settled back down, watching as Steve pulled out a Stark-pad and started scrolling his way through whatever was displayed on the screen. Knowing Steve, it was probably footage of their fight, which he would use for their training, or the various reports that were coming through SHIELD about the Avengers.

He kept quiet as Steve worked through what he had been given, surprised when Steve looked up far earlier than Liberty had thought. He tipped his head to the side, watching as Steve stared off into the covert. It was only when he gave himself a small shake that Steve seemed to come out of whatever thoughts he had been occupied with.

Steve reached up to pat his chest, careful to avoid the bandages there. "What do you think about new members?"

"Didn't we have enough problems with the ones that we had?"

Steve smiled uneasily. "Yes, but we might need a rotation, for when people are taken out of commission. This isn't the Howling Commandos anymore. For one thing, we've got better funding."

Liberty laughed, the sound turning into a low rumble as he thought. He glanced around the covert, eyeing the agents there.

Most of them were ground crews that remained at the covert, working for all of the dragons when they landed. Some of them were agents who were being punished for some reason or another. The very few that he could pick out without any problems from Fury were already assigned to other dragon's crews, which wouldn't make him a favorite at the covert. Which meant that he would have to pull from somewhere else.

He tipped his muzzle to scratch at the side of it, rooting around in his memory for something that Rhodey had told him in passing, about one of the Air Force pilots that he had seen once. The news had only been passed to him because Rhodey had thought that he would appreciate news of one of his own chicks. Liberty had tried to put off the usual dragon disinterest in their offspring, because it was Rhodey, and he cared about Rhodey. He stopped his scratching as he remembered the glowing recommendation that Rhodey had given the former captain of Liberty Belle, hinting that he should snatch her up for SHIELD before someone else got her.

"Major Carol Danvers, if we can get her away."

Steve nodded and tapped out her name of the Stark-pad, looking up when he was done. "Anyone else?"

Liberty hummed to himself, curling himself around Steve. There were a few more, but nothing on the scale that the Avengers were, all of them were completely human and just very good at their jobs, but never to the level that Clint and Natasha were. Liberty had his doubts that they would even be able to keep up, but he dutifully listed them off, watching as Steve noted their names down.

The gentle back and forth, the planning, it was all like it had been during the war. The early days when they had just talked about the news or what town they had pulled through, with the Howling Commandos as they worked out their strategies as they went after Hydra. It wasn't quite the same though, because Liberty was keenly aware of the years that had passed, just as much as Steve probably was. And it would never be the same Steve; he would never be getting that version of his captain back, not between the loss of Bucky, his world and Peggy. But it was Steve and Liberty was more than content with that. Bucky might never stroll through the gates of the covert again, but there was always Tony or Clint. He wouldn't have Coulson's steady presence with him any longer, but Natasha was there, and that was enough of his crew that he felt calm and comfortable. His whole world hadn't been torn away this time, and he would live with the small losses. He had to if he wanted to keep going. There would be enough to keep him busy anyway with the reassignment, training and possible addition to his small crew anyway.

Besides, he had everything that mattered. He had his crew, his job and his captain. Liberty pressed his nose against Steve's side, shoving the end under Steve's arm until the man rested his arm against the top of Liberty's muzzle. Ignoring the awkwardness of his own position, Liberty settled in, comforted by the closeness of his captain.

With the covert bustling around him, the familiar sounds and smells of other dragons in the air, and Steve beside him working on their next battle plan, it felt like home.

END


End file.
